The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

starter slow to revive

pci's picture
pci

starter slow to revive

I use to be able to leave my starter in the ref. for  extended periods of time pull it out at bedtime mix a 50/50 water flour by weight and in the morning I was good to go for pancakes or what ever. Now even after 2 weeks its lazy takes a couple days to get it working. I can't think of anything I'm doing different expect I have been using distilled water as I have it on hand for my cpap machine. Could this be my problem?

Filomatic's picture
Filomatic

Here's what I do to revive my starter.  First I use water filtered by a Brita.  I've never used distilled water.  I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and the water is great, so I only want to remove the yeast-killing chlorine.

If the starter has been in the fridge awhile, and/or you've been experiencing sluggishness, it might react better if it is built gradually.  Feed 2-1-1 (starter, water, flour), and see how that goes.  Expect to feed every 12 hours, and discard the remainder of the starter, just as you did when you first propogated the culture.  If activity is good, move to 1-1-1.  Once it is doubling at 1-1-1, move to 1-2-2.  Once it can handle 1-2-2, it will be able to consume a levain-sized meal.

Lastly, yeast etc. grow more quickly in warmer conditions.