Hi Wendy, thanks for offering much of the pertinent background info, although it would also be helpful to know what temperature your starter is currently dwelling at, and what size container you have it stored in. The reason I ask about the container is that it can be more difficult to see the type of "doubling" behavior we talk about if you have your starter stored in a wide bowl or Tupperware container. For our starter quantity and consistency a quart-sized wide mouth Mason jar that is taller than it is wide works well in order to gauge rising behavior. As far as temperature goes, as long as your starter is kept somewhere in the 70-80°F range, it should be fine, although it's important to keep in mind that fermentation will happen more quickly at 80°F than it will at 70°F. 

The rate of fermentation is important, especially once you notice your starter is rising, because ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall, which will keep yeast activity vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings can lead to sluggish yeast behavior. 

Say, for example, your starter is kept at 80°F and you notice that it peaks 4 hours after you feed it, and has collapsed completely by the time you go to feed it again, 8 hours later. This might be even more likely to happen to the starter you fed with a 2:1:1 ratio of starter:water:flour, by weight. This is because increasing the percentage of starter tends to make fermentation happen more rapidly. Ultimately this type of feeding routine may lead to sluggish yeast. 

In order to slow down fermentation so that your starter peaks closer to the 12 hour mark when you're feeding twice a day it can be helpful to increase the percentage of water/flour you feed your starter. Feeding your starter a relatively larger meal means it takes more time for it to process the meal. This might mean feeding with a 1:2:2, or even 1:3:3 ratio, by weight. Note that offering your starter a "larger meal" doesn't necessarily mean using up more flour, as you can always reduce the amount of starter relative to the water/flour portion. For example, a 1:2:2 feeding could look like this: 57g starter + 113g water + 113g flour. 

Tweaking the ratio of ingredients in your starter in this way may help you keep yeast activity strong, and may also result in a higher rise. Since temperature plays such an important role in the rate of fermentation, it can be helpful to adjust your ratios seasonally as temperatures shift in your kitchen environment, particularly if you notice the rising behavior of your starter is changing.

In hot summer months, feeding with cooler water and sticking your starter in the refrigerator when it's peaked and you're not able to feed it right then, should also be helpful in slowing things down. 

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

Barb

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