December 2, 2009 - 11:07pm
Help!! 7 day starter has quadrupled!
Please tell me what I should do next. Last fed was about 6 hours ago, still on 1:1:1 ratio. Today is the first day it has quadrupled, and is still at "peak" levels. Should I go 1:2:2 next? Smells nice and tangy. Actually have used some of the day 6 "discard" to do a country sourdough tomorrow..is being proofed at room temperature now, and will go to the fridge for about 14 hours. Will report how it turns out. I thought my fingers especially my thumbs were going to cramp doing the stretching and folding a la Richard Bertinet. It didn't take 15 minutes, took me 30 minutes at least, had to rest in between!
Thanks in advance for your valuable tips!
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I can remember a starter that I fed one night, just before bed, so that I could make lots of pancakes in the am. When I got up it had crawled out of the crock, up the wall, across the window sill, and was heading up the window! Geeeze. Lively sucker! Luckily I had enough left for pancakes!
I wouldn't have the patience to spend 30 min folding a dough, even with a break. Why not try a different method? Mix it up and let it just sit 30 minutes. Then do a little folding or light kneading for a few minutes to blend and form a smooth dough. Try it and see if it makes a difference.
Sounds like you can reduce your amount of starter to smaller amounts and double up on the flour, so it doesn't go thru the food so fast. Find a cooler place to let it stand so you only have to feed once a day. Now that you're familiar with what it looks like when it peaks, you adjust the feedings to meet more to your schedule.
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