Do you have to store starter in the fridge?
Have been away for awhile and haven't baked in in awhile. What brought me to this wonderful site was trying to get a starter going. I did indeed accomplish that and made some wonderful first ever loaves. I have been keeping up with my starter feedings not real regularly however each time I feed it it rises and falls. I have NOT been putting it the fridge and sometimes it has gone as long as a week and a half without a feeding. I have added like a 10 oz. of rye flour to my KA flour 30 oz ( I have been keeping it 20 oz starter to 40 oz each water/flour) every once in awhile not sure why. The last few days I have been feeding it once a day as I would like to bake some breads.
My questions is this:
It is not real sour smelling almost flat and right before I feed it it smells kinda of like alcohol. I am wondering if I should feed it more than once a day at this point? It does fall before I feed it again should I feed again at it's highest rise? Have I ruined it by not storing it in the fridge for so long (months)? Thanks