Month+ old starter started doubling consistently in oven after 12 hours, but out of oven, it doesn't rise as much
The Ratio I've been feeding is 1:1:1 of starter, 50/50 AP/WW flour, and tap water. I was recently able to get my starter to reliably double between 4-8 hours, while being stored in the oven with the light on, feeding twice daily.
Now that it appeared to be ready, I figured it can come out of the oven and stay on my counter, instead, so I can feed it once a day, rather than twice a day, since the temp will be much lower (around 70°F). It doubled yesterday, no problem, though probably much later than 8 hours, which I figured is normal due to temp differences.
However, since I planned on baking soon, and I don't prefer the taste of WW, I did yesterday's feeding with the same ratio, but instead all AP flour. It's been 12+ hours since feeding, and it's barely risen.
Should I be concerned? Was immediately changing to 100% AP flour a mistake? Was my starter not ready, even though it doubled consistently for 5+ days, though in a different environment? Is the 4-8 hour rule not as consistent, due to my room temp? Or am I overthinking all of this? Any help anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
1. Yes, you are overthinking things.
2. You changed from keeping it in the oven to keeping it on the counter, but you didn't allow enough time or refreshes to see if it was stabilizing at the new temperature.
3. Feeding it only at 1:1:1 is pretty lean, IMHO. The starter is going to use up that new flour relatively quickly, and then during the rest of the day is going to go hungry and become relatively inactive until the next feeding. For reference, my own 100% AP 100% hydration starter, which I refresh at a higher ratio for the most part, will usually take around 5 or 6 hours at around 72 deg F to reach max volume. At that point I would either use it or refrigerate it. If I left it unrefreshed for a day, it would not only become fairly inactive but also likely start to get thin.
4. Doubling or whatever isn't always a good measure. It's sort of a rule of thumb, but don't be dominated by it. You should expect your starter to develop a lot of bubbles throughout its volume, and rise to a peak which it will hold for some time and then start to subside. The exact amount of rise with your starter is something for you to get used to.
I suggest that you discard much of the starter and feed the remainder 1:3:3 (the exact numbers aren't critical), then feed it again after it starts to subside. Keep that up for a few days and when the starter is behaving consistently you should be good to go.
TomP