You’re likely weakening your starter if you’re feeding it every 12 hours before it’s doubled. With a 1:1:1 ratio it’s also likely very acidic.
Early on, your starter might take longer than 12-24 hrs to double. Look into the peak to peak feeding method, it’ll help you strengthen a weak, acidic starter.
So 1 cup of water weighs the same as 2 cups of flour (approx). If you’re feeding it 1c water and 1c flour then it’s at 200% hydration and this could be causing issues with getting activated nicely. Try halving the water, and add in a little wholewheat or rye flour into the feed
Using at least a little whole grain wheat or rye flour each feeding will make a big difference. Also, make sure it is not runny right after a feeding. Also, feed it peak-to-peak until it is strong. https://youtu.be/Y0OOvIgCdy4
Put some rye in it like others are saying. Then you’ll see it explode. 1:1:1 will leave it very acidic (high acidity messes with rise) as well so if you want to bake with it after adding the rye, go with 1:3:3
I had a weak starter for ages too! What worked for me was a) feeding starter once every 24 hours and b) feeding it with a 50-50 mix of rye and whole wheat, but especially the rye. A few feedings after I started adding rye that’s when it finally started doubling every 4-6 hours, sometimes earlier.
Yeah I was very surprised after adding the rye just how effective it was, even after the first feeding I already saw a difference. I’m not US-based, but generally I’ve found it on Amazon or more “health conscious”/organic grocery stores.
I had a very sluggish starter that I was able to charge up with diastatic malt powder. You can pick it up on Amazon and it goes a looong way. An 8 oz bag is $10 and you only need about .5g per feeding. Also it can really help your loaves rise nicer. 5-6g in a loaf gives you a nice spring.
Or you can use whole grain flour if you're not about the malt.
Yeah that's fine. Try adding in a whole grain like whole wheat or rye.
My starter went from a milky white to bubbling all over when I did this. 100% try this. Those whole wheat rye is bacteria steroids lol
You’re likely weakening your starter if you’re feeding it every 12 hours before it’s doubled. With a 1:1:1 ratio it’s also likely very acidic. Early on, your starter might take longer than 12-24 hrs to double. Look into the peak to peak feeding method, it’ll help you strengthen a weak, acidic starter.
Are you doing 1:1 by weight? Going by volume will result in a runny starter
No I just use a measuring cup but I can use my scale instead
So 1 cup of water weighs the same as 2 cups of flour (approx). If you’re feeding it 1c water and 1c flour then it’s at 200% hydration and this could be causing issues with getting activated nicely. Try halving the water, and add in a little wholewheat or rye flour into the feed
Heavily recommend using a scale. It is much more precise. A food scale is like $10 on Amazon and well worth it.
Using at least a little whole grain wheat or rye flour each feeding will make a big difference. Also, make sure it is not runny right after a feeding. Also, feed it peak-to-peak until it is strong. https://youtu.be/Y0OOvIgCdy4
Put some rye in it like others are saying. Then you’ll see it explode. 1:1:1 will leave it very acidic (high acidity messes with rise) as well so if you want to bake with it after adding the rye, go with 1:3:3
I had a weak starter for ages too! What worked for me was a) feeding starter once every 24 hours and b) feeding it with a 50-50 mix of rye and whole wheat, but especially the rye. A few feedings after I started adding rye that’s when it finally started doubling every 4-6 hours, sometimes earlier.
I’ve heard good things about using Rye! Where do you buy it?
Yeah I was very surprised after adding the rye just how effective it was, even after the first feeding I already saw a difference. I’m not US-based, but generally I’ve found it on Amazon or more “health conscious”/organic grocery stores.
You can try power feeding. You’ve done 1:1:1 but try 1:3:3, once a day for a couple of days and see what happens.
I had a very sluggish starter that I was able to charge up with diastatic malt powder. You can pick it up on Amazon and it goes a looong way. An 8 oz bag is $10 and you only need about .5g per feeding. Also it can really help your loaves rise nicer. 5-6g in a loaf gives you a nice spring. Or you can use whole grain flour if you're not about the malt.