Sourdough starter at elevation

Question

I started my starter from a friends thanksgiving gift of a sample. I live at 6200 ft. Elevation. My issue i've run in to is after feeding it grows and bubbles within 4 hours and thickens. The next day its lost it's expansion and bubbles are smaller and deminished. It gets very thin again. When it's at it's peak, it floats and i've baked with it. But again the next day issues come up and it wont float. Any thoughts on this?

Answer 1

Almost all starters go through a rise and fall cycle after feeding. The starter will typically rise for a few hours (due to yeast growth), reach a certain peak volume, and then collapse (as gases escape, bubbles pop, and the increasing acidity due to bacteria growth weakens gluten). This will happen regardless of elevation, and baking directly with a starter a day after feeding will not usually give the best results (unless one starts with a very small amount of starter and a very large amount of flour for it to consume).

At higher elevations, this cycle will happen a bit faster as the gas production of the yeast will cause the starter to rise more quickly. The collapse will follow once it gets too high.

I'm not certain what remedy the question is asking for. One should usually feed a starter with a timing so that it hasn't peaked before adding it to the final bread dough. If the feeding is occurring too early, then feed the starter closer to the time it will be used. One can also slow the growth of starter by refrigerating it, but I'd recommend only using this for longer storage (more than a day) and usually to plan on feeding again after refrigeration before reuse for most consistent results.

Generally speaking, one shouldn't depend on using a starter on consecutive days without providing it more food. If you feel like you're creating too much starter (and throwing some out), then reduce the quantity of starter you're keeping so that feeding it more often won't result in as much waste. (Even a tablespoon or less of a vigorous starter is plenty to keep in reserve and can be built up --perhaps with multiple feedings -- to whatever amount of starter is necessary for a recipe.)