Making a strong and powerful Italian-style sourdough starter
I have been struggling to make panettone with an Italian-style starter. I have a supply of firm 50% hydration starter that I created and I follow the directions posted by several people here and at other sites on refreshing the starter. Each time I refresh the starter, it seems to at least double within the 4-5 hour resting period so I was assuming that everything was working fine. When I make the first dough for the panettone, it typically rises, although it takes close to 12 hours to do so. Unfortunately, after I finish the second stage of the dough the following morning, the finished dough doesn't seem to rise. The dough itself matches the descriptions and pictures I see of a very soft but strong dough with good windowpaining. I am wondering if my starter really isn't strong enough to make it for the second rise. Any help on making a good, strong, powerful starter would be much appreciated.