Confusion with bringing starter out of the fridge
Some context before the confusion:
I started raising my first starter around a month ago. I fed it for around 3 weeks until I baked my first loaves of sourdough (all apf during this time period and some wholewheat right after baking - both 1:1:1). Everything went pretty well (sorry no pictures to show). On the fifth week, I decided to take a break from maintaining it and let it sit the fridge for a week for the first time. This past week I decided to revive it. The past 3 days of feeding i had to feed it apf coz I didnt have whole wheat at the time on a 1:1:1 ration. Strangely, it was very liquidy and had a few bubbles so I reduced the water by x:x:(x-10) where x is the amount of water/flour. It eventually starts to return to the starter viscosity that I'm used to. The next 4 days I feed it with whole wheat in the same "ratio" there are much more bubbles and it rises way more. All which, as far as I know, are good signs. However, it has never passed the float test yet. All the times that I've tried have led to the starter falling like a brick. To be honest, I'm getting impatient (coz i wanna start baking with it again HAHA) and worried because I'm not really sure about the overall health of my starter.
whole wheat flour ferments very fast, and chances are, you are catching it after the flour has degraded to the point where it won't pass the float test.
No matter, failing the float test won't mean an unleavened bread. Just make your levain with your bubbly starter, and proceed.
Do this though: Whenever you switch from wheat to white, for some reason, the yeast need to be oxygenated good before they work right. Give your starter a vigorous stir halfway in the middle of fermentation, and you'll notice a big explosion with lots of bubbles, etc.
Alright! Thanks for the tip