Hi Beau, it sounds like your starter is mostly doing fine, but is perhaps a bit sluggish in terms of rising, and doesn't seem to be delivering a consistent rise in your sourdough bread baking. Feeding at the peak will help to keep the yeast active and strong, so particularly for the feedings leading up to baking I would aim to feed at the peak, or just as it's beginning to fall. Don't worry if you're not seeing any hooch, which isn't really something you want to aim for. Typically a mature starter won't develop hooch until it's completely fallen and overdue for a feeding. I suspect your difficulties with your sourdough bread baking may have more to do with the bread making process, and its hard to advise you on that front without knowing the recipe and process you're following. For more help troubleshooting your sourdough bread baking, please don't hesitiate to call the friendly bakers on our Baker's Hotline. We're here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST, and the number to call is 855-371-BAKE. You might also consider trying our Pain Au Levain recipe, which I find tends to promote a good rise and has good directions along the way to help you hone your sourdough baking skills. Since cooler temperatures will slow down the rise, aim for a dough temperature between 75-78F after mixing and kneading. This blog post offers you some tips on how to achieve your desired dough temperature, and this blog has some helpful suggestions on how to keep your dough in that optimum range. One word of warning: if you decide to use your microwave oven as a makeshift proof box, be careful how you boil water in it! Water heated for an extended time in the microwave can become superheated and explode upward unexpectedly. This has happened to me a few times, so I've learned to place a microwave safe plastic or wooden implement in the water to help prevent this. Or to be completely on the safe side, boil your water on the stove and then place it in the microwave to warm up that small space as a way of keeping your dough nice and cozy. 

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

Barb

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