sourdough starter questions
Hello,
I started a rye sourdough starter today, as described in Hamelman's book, 450 g water and 450 g organic whole rye flour. The consistency is a very thick paste -- is that OK? My husband says I need to add water.
I am also pretty confused about maintaining it. Again, I have read what Hamelman said about it, but it just does come together for me. After I develop a mature culture, I plan on baking with it maybe once a week, sometimes maybe not even as often as I like to bake different types of breads. How should I handle my starter? Do I need to keep feeding it every day even if I won't use it? Would I discard some every day as well? How far in advance of baking does it need to come out of the fridge? After I take it out, do I need to do anything to get it readsy to go? I guess I am not understanding the science behimnd managing a starter -- is there an explanation someone could provide, or maybe direct me to a resource where I could read up on this.
Thank you in advance!
Yulika