Recently my sourdough starter became sad and sleepy..😴
The temperature here in Texas rises and falls so rapidly, some nights are cold, some are warm, so it's so hard to predict what ratio will satisfy my starter🙈
We all know that only strong and fast starter can lead to a good bread result🍞
Usually I feed it 1:5:5 (8 g starter: 40 g water: 40 g flour blend) at 75°F (24°C) twice a day and it is always strong and satisfied))
Now I play with the ratios from 1:2:2 to 1:4:4 twice a day depending on the temperature in my kitchen. It's important that the starter is still on it's peak right before the next feeding, triples in size or even more, smells pleasantly🥰
Nevertheless the microbiome in the starter (yeasts and lactic acid bacteria) suffer a little bit from these changing feedings and need some help to get more activated.
So what can we do for making our starter more active?
🧬 first of all frequent feedings: 2 times a day with the ratio 1:1:1 at 26-28C every 5h - as soon as it gets to its peak or at least doubles in size - we feed it again 1:1💪 For an overnight feeding we feed it with a regular higher ratio
🧬during frequent feedings we can use warm water or keep the starter in a warmer spot (no fridge at all!) to create the best conditions for yeast and lactic bacteria growth ( so the starter will reach its peak faster)
🧬 we can use a flour mix for feedings: adding 5-10% of whole wheat or rye flour to a regular unbleached wheat flour (I always feed with adding 5% of whole rye flour)
🧬during 1-2 feedings we can add to flour just a tiny-tiny pinch of dry diastatic malt powder, it's full of sugars and will be a tasty cake for our yeasts- as a result they will grow fast and be strong
🧬 just a tiny-tiny amount of honey works the same as dry diastatic malt powder ( but we should keep in mind that adding a lot of honey and malt powder will in their turn ruin all yeasts power)
🧬adding just 3-5 g of fruit yeast water will also boost starter's yeast activity
This time I'm just feeding my starter more often and it looks satisfied and active again, as well as my family is satisfied with the bread👌🏻
Maybe I forgot something?🤔 Please, share with me your tips!🙌🏻😉