hello all. I have had my starter successfully going for almost a year. I feed it every 10 days - 2 weeks, removing the amount I am not using. I usually use 1/3 c of spring water and 1/2 c of all purpose flour. Two days ago I did the same and the starter became watery and did not rise. Today I added some more flour, no water and still watery there are bubbles and the watery starter still smells fine. Appealing to you experienced backer for advice
I understand you’ve been successful for nearly a year with 1/3 c of water to 1/2 c of flour … BUT 1/3 cup flour weighs 76-78 grams (I experimented several times). 1/2 cup of flour depending on brand and how you measure and humidity, etc. could weigh 60-78 grams. Most grocery store AP flour says 30 g per 1/4 cup. The AP flour I use is 38 g per 1/4 cup. At any rate, for a 100% hydration starter, which is what most of us use, you would feed equal parts water and flour … by weight. Volume is prone to variation.
All to say, it could be that the ratio of water to flour has finally exceeded that which allows the starter to be active. This is just a guess on my part and I don’t know if it can be resolved with what you did or not. BUT, since you have bubbles and it smells normal … if it were me, I’d add a little more flour (1-2 T) every 12 hours and see if you get to normal consistency. Or, you could try a bake (small bake) and see what happens.
Ultimately, a scale and measuring by weight vs volume will be less problematic.
Thank you