Hi Sally, we don't set much store in the float test, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. If you're managing to bake loaves that you find spectacular and delicious, then that's all that counts. 

However, if your starter is doubling after only a few hours, you may find that making a few adjustments to your room temperature feeding routine will be helpful. Ideally you do want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall. Feeding in this way will help to keep yeast activity strong, while allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior.

While you could certainly keep replenishing your starter every few hours leading up to baking, this can get a little crazy. Alternatively, it can be helpful to tweak the ratio of ingredients in your starter. Keep in mind that temperature also plays an important roll in the rate of fermentation; with warmer temperatures your starter is likely to ferment more quickly, while in winter months it will slow down. This means that you may need to adjust your starter feeding routine seasonally, as the weather changes. 

The goal is to find a twice a day feeding routine that allows you to replenish your starter when it's close to the peak, or just beginning to fall. To that end, offering your starter a relatively larger meal (less starter, as compared to water/flour fed) tends to slow down fermentation and should help get you closer to the 12 hour mark. These adjustments are based on weight, rather than volume. Consider that our normal starter maintenance routine calls for a 1:1:1 ratio of starter:water:flour, by weight, and a typical feeding consists of 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter + 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) water + 1 scant cup (4 ounces, 113g) flour. To slow down fermentation you could try a 1:2:2 or even 1:3:3 ratio, by weight. So, you might end up feeding 57g starter + 113g water + 113g flour, or 38g starter + 113g water + 113g flour. 

Once you've found a feeding routine that allows you to replenish close to the peak, then you should be golden. You can also slow things down on warm summer days by feeding with cooler water. 

Depending on how long you've stored your starter in the refrigerator, you may find you need to feed your starter at room temperature for more than a day to bring it back to it's normal robust rising behavior. Adding your "ripe" starter to the recipe when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall, should ensure that your starter not only floats, but provides good rising power for your bread baking. 

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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