starter rising and falling and about checking every two hours.
My starter rose and fell. I fed it a second time. I see it rose and fell again. Do I keep feeding it? And, you say to check every two hours. Am I checking for the rise and fall to keep feeding it? Also, I can't check it through the night. I'm sure you don't mean anyone to do that, right?
Recipe question for:
Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
1 Comment
Lori T.March 24, 2025
Yes, you will need to check and feed your starter culture a couple more times before it's ready to use for baking. After the second feeding you wait for 12-24 hours, depending on the time it requires to rise and begin to fall. You feed it a third time, and leave it covered to rise and fall again- and this will happen some time after about 12 hours. It could take longer, it depends on your yeast. If it's not ready for the fourth feeding at 12 hours, you will recheck it every 2 hours until it has risen and started to fall. You could leave it overnight, for up to 24 hours after the feeding- but he says not to let it go more because it will get thin and watery. You don't have to check the starter every 2 hours round the clock for five or six days. No, you feed it, and wait for 12 hours, watching for the rise and fall. If you are doing this so in the evening, feeding before bedtime, your first check wouldn't be needed until you wake in the morning. If it's not ready then, you check every 2 hours. I imagine it would be risen and ready to go sometime during the early day, possibly early afternoon at the latest. Then you can feed it and let it sit overnight again. You don't have to set an alarm and get up in the night, fortunately it's not an infant. After the fifth day, and fifth feeding, you can then store it in a jar in the refrigerator. Disclaimer here- I have not made this starter myself. I have an ordinary starter based on wheat flour that I use regularly, but the principles are the same. If your yeast are warm and happy, they work more quickly. On the first day, there are not many of them to do the eating, but by day 4 it's large enough to need population control- which is why you discard some of the starter. You only need to do the 2 hour checks after the 12 hour rest each time- and then until it's risen and fallen. Feed and restart the 12 hour wait at that point. By the way, you can use the discard for other things so don't just pour it down the drain. My family favorite discard use is chocolate cake, or flatbreads.
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