Increase time to peak for very active starter
As I posted in my first thread my starter is peaking in 3-4 hours. I'm very happy that it is strong and all but the problem I am going to run into is that a couple nights a week I will be making bread between the time I get home from work and the time I go to bed 4-5 hours. If I feed the starter before I leave for work it will peak before I am halfway through my day. If I feed it again when I get home it will peak too late to make bread. I am currently feeding 200g starter(need to cut that back a bit) with 100g water/100g flour. If I increase the flour/water weights so that mix is double, triple, ect of the starter will it take longer to peak or will the yeast just adjust to the larger meal and still peak just as quick? In my head I imagine a bigger meal takes longer to eat but want to make sure. If it dose take longer is it typically pretty linear so double the amount of food takes twice as long and so on?
If you are going to be gone for 10 hrs, multiply the starter by 10:1 (remember that it is an exponential growth process, not linear, so that is about 3.5 doublings at 3 hr each) and let it ferment at low room temperature (65-69°F). It should be ready when you get home. If you can't get that cool, try a 50:1 increase. It really doesn't make too much difference. Above 50:1, add one doubling time to the exponential growth time to calculate when it will be ready. Trial and success is a wonderful way to learn - put out 4 bowls of starter, 5:1, 10:1, 20:1, 40:1 and see which one works for you. It costs you a couple of pounds of flour and a few bowls to wash, but you get the answer in one day.
Doc
J Hamelman discusses using small amounts of salt to slow down starters in his book "Bread". If you don't already own the book, look for it at your local library or when all else fails, skim through the book at your local Borders or Barnes&Noble bookstores. It shouldn't take more than the time to drink a small coffee to get your information.
Another thing to try is cutting down on your water. Less water = less rapid growth...My 2x daily feeding regime for my starter is 5:9:15.....that's 60% HL. It varies depending on temperature and I simply adjust the water - all else stays constant.
Lots of ideas to experiment with for awhile and, as Doc.Dough stated above ....not much to loose. Kind of like science experiments that we did in elementary school only playing with dough has a practical purpose....and it is fun :-)