I've finally got a good and tasty starter going but I've read many different ways for maintaining it, most of which involve refrigeration. I want to avoid that if possible because I'm not one to plan my bread making that far in advance, and if I wake up one sunday morning and want sourdough pancakes, I just want to grab a scoop of ready to go active starter and get cooking.
So, what is the preferred non-refrigeration method? I've seen some people talk about feeding it up to twice a day when leaving it out while others say once a week, and others say refrigeration is necessary (which I know is BS).
For the past month or so I've basically just been stirring every day or two and then do the full discard some and feed every five days and maintain about 75% hydration. It still smells fantastic and is making great breads, but I'm concerned this method/schedule may not be appropriate for the long term. But I don't really know, so I figured I'd ask here since I'm sure there are others who maintain sourdough.
So, what is the preferred non-refrigeration method? I've seen some people talk about feeding it up to twice a day when leaving it out while others say once a week, and others say refrigeration is necessary (which I know is BS).
For the past month or so I've basically just been stirring every day or two and then do the full discard some and feed every five days and maintain about 75% hydration. It still smells fantastic and is making great breads, but I'm concerned this method/schedule may not be appropriate for the long term. But I don't really know, so I figured I'd ask here since I'm sure there are others who maintain sourdough.