Hello everyone.
I am hoping someone out there can help me with a couple of questions I have with managing my starter.
Finally, after 2 months (I nearly gave up!!) my starter is working as I expect and I have managed to produce a sourdough bread I am more than happy with.
My starter finally doubled every 24 hours and I managed to organise my mixing and overnight time in the fridge, so that I could cook the bread first thing in the morning. However, my problem is that the starter has sudeenly started doubling in about 10 hours, which puts my system out of whack.
I have fed the starter twice daily so that I will have it ready at 3 pm. This is a bit of a waste of flour! Can I refrigerate the starter for a few hours to slow it down or will this make it not so active?
Also, if I want to make bread every second day starting at 3 pm, what is the best way to deal with the starter so I am not feeding it tice a day?
Many thanks in advance for any advice given,
Jeanette
Replies
Using temperature I think would be the easiest way to control the starter. The warmer the starter is the more active the bacteria and yeast will be. You can experiment with putting them in the fridge for a few hours but you will have to figure out what timing is going to work for you.
Do you use 50% whole wheat in your starter? If not, try (in another jar) to add say 10% at a time and see if it helps to moderate it. It should slow your starter down. Other possibilities; Are you placing your starter on the same shelf in your Frig.? The higher the shelf, the higher the temp. It may be enough to make the difference.
Some bakers use a small amount of salt to moderate it. I've never tried it.