Barb at King Arthur

April 30, 2020 at 9:06am

In reply to by Elena Gomez (not verified)

Hi Elena, I think what you're seeing is just your starter reacting to different temperatures and feeding routines. Nothing to worry about, but it is important to respond accordingly. Whole wheat flour will tend to make your starter ferment more quickly, as will warmer temperatures (as you've observed with the faster peaking). This kind of behavior can also lead to more sluggishness, especially if you allow the starter to collapse completely in between feedings. For more vigorous yeast, you'll want to aim to feed your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just as it's beginning to fall. If your starter is peaking after 3-4 hours, this could lead to a lot of room temperature feedings, so you may want to consider giving your starter a larger feeding, which will slow down fermentation. You may want to try a 1:2:2, or even 1:3:3 ratio of starter:water:flour, by weight. The goal is to find a twice a day room temperature feeding routine that works with your schedule and allows you to replenish your starter closer to the peak of rising. And remember, it's fine to store a mature starter in the refrigerator when you're not baking with it, so you don't have to keep up the twice a day feeding routine forever. Give it a feeding, let it sit out for 2-4 hours, and then store it in the refrigerator. When you are planning to start baking again, leave yourself time for a few days of twice a day feedings at room temperature to bring your starter back to full vitality before baking. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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