hi, i started my starter a few months ago following the birk st method in the book. at first i would follow the exact feeding amounts of water and flour. but with time, i got lazy and now i just keep it in he fridge and from time to time, refresh it, but i don't measure the flour and water.
i don't know much at all really about sourdough, but despite my neglect, it seems to bounce back nicely and looks bubbly.
i have no idea what im doing, and not sure how i can tell if its ready to go solo or not. i usually jus use a small amount with my regular yeast breads.
i'd love any insight whatsoever. is it wrong to not measure when feeding? am i stuffing up the chemistry somehow?
thanks heaps :)
I wouldn't say it's "wrong," but for recipes, it's helpful to know the basic hydration of your starter - like how thin or thick it is. Some recipes like a thick one, almost like a dough, some prefer thin, like pancake batter. But as long as it's bubbly and happy, you're basically doing fine. I assume you mean you're leaving it out of the fridge for a while when you refresh it? Not just adding the stuff and throwing it back in there? Because that WOULD eventually kill the sourdough - you'd take so much out without giving it a chance to ferment and grow.
I think most people know their starter is ready to "go solo" when it has proven its ability to leaven in a given amount of time. For Maggie Glezer's thick starter, which I use, she suggests that it triple or quadruple its volume in 8 hours before using it in a recipe. I don't know what the guideline would be for a thin starter, but if you refresh it, say, in the evening, and it's very bubbly and noticeably much bigger by morning-time, it's probably ready to go.
(if you leave it too long, of course, it will start deflating, so you don't want to leave it too long before checking)