Hi Angel, ideally when you're maintaing your starter at room temperature you do want to try to feed your starter when it's at its peak, or is just beginning to fall. This type of feeding routine will keep the yeast at its most active and vigorous, but there's no need to live in fear of missing the peak. It's a good goal, but life happens and a few hours one way or another is not likely to cause any problems, particularly if you're feeding at room temperature fairly regularly, and not just once or twice a week. You can also adjust the ratios in your starter slightly to slow down the ripening process, which can help you line up your twice a day feedings closer to the peak. You might want to try a 1:2:2 ratio (starter:water:flour, by weight), or even a 1:3:3 ratio and see how that works for you. For your smaller starter a 1:3:3 ratio might look like: 10g starter + 30g water + 30g AP flour.
December 14, 2020 at 8:24am
In reply to Hi Barb, I have been… by Angel R. (not verified)
Hi Angel, ideally when you're maintaing your starter at room temperature you do want to try to feed your starter when it's at its peak, or is just beginning to fall. This type of feeding routine will keep the yeast at its most active and vigorous, but there's no need to live in fear of missing the peak. It's a good goal, but life happens and a few hours one way or another is not likely to cause any problems, particularly if you're feeding at room temperature fairly regularly, and not just once or twice a week. You can also adjust the ratios in your starter slightly to slow down the ripening process, which can help you line up your twice a day feedings closer to the peak. You might want to try a 1:2:2 ratio (starter:water:flour, by weight), or even a 1:3:3 ratio and see how that works for you. For your smaller starter a 1:3:3 ratio might look like: 10g starter + 30g water + 30g AP flour.
I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb