Hello everyone!
I have an active starter which I am feeding and baking with it regularly.
This morning I fed it at 8am and by 11am it has already doubled in size. The ratio I am using is 50g:50g:50g so 1:1:1 only whole wheat flour.
My question is, if I decrease the amount of mature starter (let’s say 10g) that goes into the feeding process, and keep the same amount of flour and water (50g), can I still go back to the 1:1:1? This way the ratio will be 1:5:5.
Or should I keep feeding it whenever is ready, without keeping an eye on the clock? I don’t think the starter will stay active and fully grown until 20:00 in the evening to respect the 12h feeding schedule.
Thanks in advance
Cori
There is no steadfast rule and you must adjust to your starters needs and your own schedule.
1:1:1 is not a very big feed and if you wish for your starter to take longer to mature then by all means feed it 1:5:5 (or more). You can also use cold water and/or lower hydration. The fridge is also your friend.
If your starter has matured and you aren't ready to bake then pop it into the fridge till you're ready.
If you're just maintaining it at room temperature but not necessarily baking then you don't need to worry about catching it perfectly on time.
How long have you had your starter? Perhaps it's time for it to go into the fridge.
It depends on what you want your bread to taste like, IMO. If you want less sour, you can reduce your seed culture and increase the ratio as you said. There are times I keep only about a tablespoon or less to 100g flour and water, and it still doubles in 6 hours. But you can still use it past this doubling stage, as the equilibrium will be there until a while after it starts collapsing.
Refrigerator or cold water to feed is also a good plan, or use strictly white flour to slow down activity. A few degrees difference can sometimes mean much slower activity. I think I saw somewhere that the difference between 75F and 80F final dough temperature can cause proofing times to differ by as much as a few hours, so I imagine it's the same with your starter.