Hello all,

I captured my own wild yeast and have kept it alive and I think happy for about 8 weeks or so. I have been reading so many different pieces of advice about feeding for maintenace and have never seen anyone else feed at a ratio of 1:6:6. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on if this is a bad idea or just another way to feed it.

I have tried 100% hydration, 66% and 50%. I found that 100 percent gives me good bread and seems to be very stable. 66% was fine but soooo sticky! And 50% just smelled like vinegar and I never baked with it.

I do keep it in the fridge if I am not using it, usually during the week as I work full time. (I keep the discards and whip out some coffee cakes during the week) On thursday I'll take it out, stir it up and let it peak and begin to fall. (it smells like brandy and bananas when its time to feed, oh I love that smell!) Then I take 5 g of starter, add 30 g water, stir it up till it looks milky, then add 30 g flour. It likes bread flour and I spike it with rye at least once during the refreshments. I wait till it peaks (8-12 hrs, it quadruples) and begins to fall before I feed again with the same ratio. My room temp is about 74F on top of the fridge. I refresh it until Sunday evening and feed it, let it about double and pop it back in the fridge for another 4 days of hybernation.

So, why do I see so many people feeding at a ratio of 1:1:1 or 1:2:2 but never as high as 1:6:6? Is it that it would peak much faster and need to be fed more often? I think my starter would race through these lower ratios and hooch out after 5 hours! Haven't tried it though, we seem to have found our routine, Ursula and I. I know it's all about what works for us but was wondering about your thoughts? Thanks for any input!

Lisa