A week ago Monday, I did a starter with APF, water and some 12 year old yeast that I found. Over the next few days, feeding it morning and evening, it bubbled, looked lively, and on Saturday last week I made a loaf of bread and it turned out beautifully. I once again began my pattern of twice a day feeding, but the jar didn't double, very little action, but it smelled delicious. The first time I used it, it was beautiful with the consistency of thick cornbread batter. Since then, it's almost like very heavy cream, not thick, not thin. I poured some out into a bowl of water, and although it floated, it just didn't have the bubbles like it did before. I've been using a cheap store brand APF, but wondered if I should either start over, or if I can revive those bubbles by using King Arthur flour with a mixture of rye and whole wheat. Any suggestions?
as the commercial yeast are dying out. The foam is from the bacteria increasing acid in the starter. Soon the wild yeast will take over and this is common. Just be gentle with it and perhaps feed only once a day until you see more action. You can also thicken it up instead of discarding. Soon it will jolt back into life and most likely overflow the jar.
Thank you for the response. I've poured it into a clean jar and will feed it a bit of whole wheat flour and will reduce feeding to once a day as suggested.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/26461/commercial-bakers-yeast-starter-vs-sourdough-starter#comment-197277