Sourdough Maintenance and Cooking

I'm only a week into cooking with my new sourdough starter and I'm obsessed.  So far I have made griddle cakes, pikelets, crumpets, crackers, flatbread, fruit cakes, scallion and cabbage pancakes just from the discard.  This has been so much fun and so delicious that I haven't even attempted bread yet!

I have shifted into maintenance mode and it has been very simple.  I was using my starter almost every day so I began by keeping it on the counter and feeding it twice a day.  But because it is the middle of summer right now, and it was rising too fast, I started keeping it in the refrigerator.

My new routine is when I get up in the morning I take my starter (Poquito) out of the fridge and let him warm up before feeding him.  Then I let him sit on the counter (feed) for a couple of hours before putting him back into the fridge.

This schedule has been a great way to keep my starter active and ready to use as often as I like.  What I have discovered is that knowing how my starter reacts to my kitchen and environment was critical for it to thrive.  

I'm looking forward to many years of happy Sourdough cooking.