Hi, Kathy. You were wondering how to know that your sourdough starter is
ready to use. It will smell sour, a little bit of alcohol in the aroma. It
will be foamy. When you add a little flour and water, does it bubble up a lot
in the first hour? Then it is ready to use. What I do is feed it with the
flour/warm water (in equal parts), and then after the bubbling settles down,
refrigerate it. When you are ready to bake with it, take it out of the fridge,
bring to room temperature, and revive it with a small feeding of flour/warm
water. Once it bubbles up nice and foamy, it is ready to bake with. Sounds
so simple, doesn't it? Once you get on a roll it is, but knowing what to do
with this bowl of rotting flour and water is not always obvious! And I think
you are right about the wallpaper paste!
Deb