I think my starter might be ready to use? I started it last Monday (5/16) with the Pineapple Juice solution. I've been feeding every 24 hours, but did an 18 hour feed this morning because it looked like it rose and then deflated overnight.
It's been three hours since I fed and the height has tripled! What's next? I want to use it for pancakes, but I'm not sure how to plan out the feedings with when to use it...
I'm not an expert yet, but I grew my culture in January, and just did a series of revival builds because I found my culture had gotten pretty weak. My initial reaction is not enough food (too much starter/not enough flour in feedings), but I'm wondering how warm the growing environment is. Temperature is a big factor in how quickly the culture grows. But this isn't to say you have a problem. It sounds like a very active, but slightly starved, culture.
Generally, according to the method I used, which is based on the Debra Wink pineapple method (see below) when you first build the culture, the first few days you are feeding 2-1-1 (2 parts Starter, 1 part water, 1 part flour), and as I recall, you feed twice a day, discarding half or whatever.
As the culture shows signs of activity (bubbles, growth), and signs of blowing through the sugar (food) in the flour (peaking, then falling), you then have evidence that the yeast and bacterial colonies are exhausting the food supply. You then increase the amount of flour to 1-1-1.
As the colony builds enough to blow through the 1-1-1 ratio, you move to 1-2-2. Eventually it gets so active at that ratio that it's doubling every 2-4 hours. I think it's generally accepted that when the starter is this active in 1-2-2 feedings, it is strong enough to leaven a larger amount of dough in a levain, which once fermented, can leaven a final dough for baking.
Below is the link I referred to earlier, which chronicles a day-by-day saga, and even if the method you used isn't exactly the same, I think you'll find it instructive.
http://yumarama.com/968/starter-from-scratch-intro/
Once you've passed this stage, you're then faced with storage. There is an extensive discussion on this site, and many very successful methods for refrigerator storage (and revival) of starters, with a minimum of waste.
Happy baking!
Let's see. I think I followed the Pineapple Juice Solution directions until...Saturday? It seemed pretty active, so I figured the next step was to build so I would have enough for my recipe. Sunday I did a 1:1:1 feed, but it seemed too wet. I had some bubbles, but not as much rise as I had been getting with PJS's 1: .5: .5. I tossed all but...3oz? of the starter on Monday and fed 1: .5: .5. Today, I weighed it and had 144g of starter. I used all of it and fed 96g each AP flour and water. Does that help?
So all the rise means there's not enough food? I thought rise was a good thing. It sounds like you're saying it's ready to use when I feed 1:2:2 and it's doubling every 2-4 hours? I've definitely got the rise: it was at the 8 oz mark when I fed this morning and crested at 1 qt three and a half hours later.
Do you feed again after it doubles? Regardless of how long it's been?
And how should I schedule my baking? Immediately after a feed--when it's rising?
So when you first build the culture, you're building a colony, and trying to get a good balance of the microbes you want. This takes about a week or longer under ideal circumstances. Generally, sourdough is at bottom a three part process: Active culture ("seed" or "starter") is used to make a levain (French) (or "leaven" or "sponge"), which is in turn used to make the final dough for baking.
Some methods or recipes use more builds and multiple starters, and other interesting tricks, but in general, think of the 3-part process as akin to building your starter from scratch, i.e., you're increasing the feedings so that the colony can handle larger amounts of flour.
There are some very good bakers who take the culture and build it up until it is the mass of a levain, whereas the book I'm currently working from (Hamelman's "Bread") use a small amount of starter and use it to build a levain (maybe this works better in a professional bakery than it has been for me, hence why I rebuilt my starter). I'm still not experienced enough to advise you on which is better.
As a general proposition, if the colony is blowing through large amounts of food, it sounds more than strong enough to use. The 1-5-5 is a 5-1 flour to starter ratio. If it's blowing through that, it is very active. The 144-96-96 feeding is about 1/7 as much food as the 1-5-5 feeding. So it's better to scale your feedings in line with the ratio you need, which will tell you how much starter you need.
Generally you want to use the starter to make a levain when it's really active, but still short of peaking. Whether the peak is double or triple may be pretty individualized. As to scheduling your baking, if using starter to build a levain, that is a feeding. If using your starter that you've built to the size of a levain, it will also be fed flour for the final dough. In Hamelman's bread, he ferments the just built levain for 12-16 hours. But then he only uses a couple tablespoons of active starter (for 2 loaves). This is why it's best to follow a recipe and then learn what works for you.
Thank you. That definitely helps me understand the process better. As I said on another thread, I'm usually a decent cook, but the learning curve for sourdough is giving me a lot of grief.
Did a 1:1:1 feeding this morning (about 22 hours since last feeding). Ninety minutes after feeding it's doubled, with lots of little bubbles throughout but not very many on the top.
Just to make sure I understand:
Before baking/building a levian for bread, the starter should be getting a 1:5:5 (or similarly high) feeding and doubling within 2-4 hours. The levian should be mixed in to make bread shortly after a feeding.
At this point, pancakes can be made at any stage regardless of ratios.
If I want to get my starter up to that high ratio, should I be feeding twice a day? Thank you all so much for the help! I feel much more confident about this attempt compared to last time!
I did not say the starter should be fed 1-5-5 prior to levain build. I said that from what I've seen written, and in my own experience, if it doubling every 2-4 hours at 1-2-2 feedings, it is strong enough to consume a larger amount of flour, for example, 5-1 flour to starter by weight. The general principle is to rev up the starter for use in a levain, and in turn use that fermented levain to build your final dough. How often you feed the starter leading up to the levain build, or how many builds build into the levain, are a matter of preference, experimentation, and time allowance.
I urge you to check out one of the current leading books on breadmaking, e.g., Hamelman's Bread, Tartine's Bread, or Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast.