From My Kitchen
Every week in the Blue Ridge Sourdough Community, I see someone ask:
“How many hours until my starter peaks?”
The answers are all over the place.
“Four hours.”
“Six hours.”
“Wait until it doubles.”
“Mine triples every time.”
The funny thing is…they can all be right.
One of the biggest shifts in my own sourdough journey happened when I stopped asking what time is peak? and started asking what does peak actually look like?
My starter doesn’t behave exactly the same every day. A warm summer kitchen is different from a cool winter morning. Different flours change things. Even feeding ratios make a difference.
Once I learned to watch my starter instead of the clock, baking became much less stressful.
This week let’s learn how to recognize peak—not by the hour, but by the signs your starter gives you.
Baker's Bench
Stop Watching the Clock—Start Reading Your Starter
One of the biggest sourdough myths is that your starter is always ready when it doubles. In reality, doubling is just one milestone—not the finish line.
A healthy starter continues developing after it doubles. The yeast and bacteria are still becoming more active, and the strongest fermentation often happens closer to its true peak.
Instead of asking, “Has it doubled?” start asking:
Is the top still rounded, or has it started to flatten?
Are bubbles visible throughout the jar?
Does it jiggle slightly when you move it?
Does it smell pleasantly sweet and yeasty?
Those clues tell you far more than the clock ever will.
Remember, peak isn’t a specific number of hours. It changes with temperature, flour type, feeding ratio, and the overall strength of your starter.
That’s why two starters fed the exact same way can peak at different times.
This week’s printable, Understanding Peak, walks you through the visual signs to watch for before peak, at peak, and after peak. Once you learn to recognize those stages, you’ll stop guessing and start baking with much more confidence.
This week’s takeaway:
Don’t bake because the timer says it’s time. Bake because your starter says it’s ready.
You Asked . . .
Question:
“Ready to try our first loaf this weekend. When the recipe calls for starter, do you feed it first then wait for peak and use the required amount from that? Or can I just use the starter I fed yesterday?”— Blue Ridge Sourdough Community Member
Answer:
This is one of my favorite questions because it gets to the heart of what “peak” really means.
For most recipes, you’ll get the best results by feeding your starter and using it when it’s at or near peak activity. That’s when the wild yeast is at its most active and ready to help your dough rise.
If you fed your starter yesterday, it may already be past its peak. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unusable, but it may ferment your dough more slowly because the yeast has already consumed much of its available food.
Instead of focusing on how many hours have passed, start looking for the signs that your starter is ready:
It has reached its highest point.
The surface has changed from rounded to nearly flat.
Bubbles are visible throughout the jar.
It has a pleasantly tangy aroma.
Every starter reaches this stage on its own schedule. Temperature, flour, feeding ratio, and the overall strength of your starter all influence when peak occurs.
That’s why learning to read your starter is much more valuable than watching the clock.
Once you understand what peak looks like, you’ll have much more confidence knowing exactly when your starter is ready to bake.
💬 Have a sourdough question you’d like featured?
Reply to this email or ask it in the Blue Ridge Sourdough Community. Your question might be featured in a future issue of The Weekly Rise!
The Baker's Challenge
Feed your starter.
Take three photos.
📸 Before Peak
📸 At Peak
📸 After Peak
Post your favorite one in the Blue Ridge Sourdough Community.
Let’s compare what “peak” looks like in different kitchens!
Reference Corner
This Week’s Printable
Understanding Peak: A Visual Guide to Reading Your Starter
One of the biggest turning points in sourdough baking is learning to recognize peak without relying on the clock.
Peak isn’t simply when your starter doubles. It’s the point where it has reached its highest activity and is ready to help your dough rise. Every starter gets there a little differently depending on temperature, flour, feeding ratio, and its overall strength.
That’s why I created this week’s Peak Recognition Guide.
Instead of guessing, you’ll learn the visual clues to look for before peak, at peak, and after peak, so you can confidently decide when your starter is ready to bake.
Print it for your baking station, tuck it into your sourdough binder, or save it on your phone for quick reference during your next feeding.
Because once you stop watching the clock and start reading your starter, you’ll never look at a jar of bubbly starter the same way again.
⬇️ Download this week’s FREE printable below.
💚 BUILD YOUR CLEAR CREEK REFERENCE LIBRARY
Each week, I’ll create a new printable guide designed to help you bake with more confidence. Save them, print them, or keep them on your phone, and before long you’ll have your own Clear Creek Sourdough Reference Library—a collection of practical guides you can turn to whenever you need a quick refresher.
One printable at a time, we’re building a resource you’ll use for years to come.
Community Crumb
Meet Lacey of Brookside Bakery
One of my favorite parts of the sourdough community is meeting people who have turned their love of baking into something they can share with others.
This week, I’m excited to introduce you to Lacey, the baker behind Brookside Bakery in Hendersonville, NC. From baking for family and friends to serving customers in her local community, she’s built her business one loaf at a time.
I asked Lacey a few questions about her sourdough journey, how she manages her starter for larger baking days, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Whether you’re dreaming of selling at your local farmers market or simply curious how another baker approaches her craft, I think you’ll enjoy getting to know her.
Let’s meet Lacey…
Tell us about yourself.
“My name is Lacey, and I own Brookside Bakery, a sourdough microbakery in Hendersonville, NC. I started my starter (Doughlene!) in 2023. I’ve baked all my life but never had the courage to step away from yeasted breads until then. I fell in love with the slow, intentional process and the health benefits that long-fermented, freshly milled breads offer.”
Inside a Microbakery Starter Routine
When she’s not baking for customers, Lacey keeps just a tiny 5–10 gram mother starter and feeds it at a 1:5:5 ratio once a day.
When it’s time for bakery production?
She gradually builds that tiny starter into 4,000–5,000 grams over several feeds instead of maintaining multiple starters.
“I can’t juggle multiple starters, so I simply build one large enough for baking and save a little to continue feeding afterward.”
It’s a great reminder that you don’t need a giant starter sitting on your counter all week.
The Peak Myth
One answer really stood out to me.
Many new bakers are told to use their starter once it doubles…
But Lacey says that’s not always true.
“My starter often grows 250–300% before it’s truly at peak.”
Instead of watching only the rise…
She watches for:
A top that begins to flatten instead of staying domed
Bubbles throughout the starter and across the surface
A sweet, yeasty aroma
Sound familiar?
That’s exactly why I created this week’s Understanding Peak guide. Every starter is a little different, and learning to read your starter is far more valuable than watching the clock.
One Thing She Wishes Every Beginner Knew
“Learn the balance between yeast activity and acidity. If you leave your starter hungry and past peak for too long, it becomes weak and making good bread gets much harder. Feed it around peak—or just after—and you’ll build a much healthier starter.”
Simple advice…
Huge difference.
What’s Baking This Week?
Lacey is especially excited about her new:
Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Sourdough
(I’m pretty sure my kitchen needs to smell like that.)
Find Brookside Bakery
If you’re local, you can find Brookside Bakery:
Fletcher Farmers Market every Tuesday
Facebook: Brookside Bakery - Hendersonville
Instagram: @brooksidebakeryhvl
Weekly preorders open every Wednesday.
If Doughlene Could Talk…
“I spent some time emaciated and in a cold, dark box with lots of other chilled foods when I was a young starter. It was utterly terrible, so I had no enthusiasm to produce beautiful bread. I now reward my baker with much better loaves since she feeds me regularly and keeps me on the counter to watch the household activities!”
I think every neglected starter has felt this way at least once.
Thank you, Lacey, for sharing your sourdough journey and a peek behind the scenes at Brookside Bakery!
🥖 Support a Local Baker
If you’re local to Hendersonville and would like to try one of Lacey’s sourdough creations, you can learn more and place an order here:
Fresh From Clear Creek
Healthy Starters Begin with Healthy Habits
One of the questions I hear most often is, “How do I know if my starter is healthy?” The answer isn’t just in how high it rises—it’s in learning to recognize the signs of an active, thriving starter.
That’s why every dehydrated Clear Creek Sourdough Starter includes more than just starter flakes. It also comes with access to my step-by-step Activation Guide and the growing Free Resource Library, where you’ll find beginner-friendly articles, printable references, and troubleshooting guides designed to help you bake with confidence.
Whether you’re just beginning your sourdough journey or looking for a reliable backup starter, my goal is to give you the tools and education to succeed—not just another jar of starter.
🥖 What’s Included:
Premium dehydrated sourdough starter
Step-by-step Activation Guide
Free access to the Clear Creek Sourdough Resource Library
Ongoing support through the Blue Ridge Sourdough Community
Ready to get started?
💚 Why I Do This
Clear Creek Sourdough was built on the belief that confidence comes from understanding—not guessing. Every guide I write, every newsletter I send, and every starter I package is designed to help you enjoy the journey as much as the bread.
Kitchen Notebook
One of my favorite things about sourdough is that there’s always something new to learn.
Lately, my kitchen has looked a little like a science experiment.
Instead of maintaining just one starter, I’ve been experimenting with four different varieties:
Classic White
Whole Wheat
Rye
Gluten-Free
Each one has its own personality.
My rye starter seems to take off like it can’t wait to bake. My whole wheat starter has a wonderfully rich aroma. My gluten-free starter has taught me more patience than I ever expected, and my classic white starter remains my dependable everyday workhorse.
Watching how each one responds to the same feeding schedule has been a great reminder that there isn’t just one “right” way to maintain a healthy starter. Flour matters. Temperature matters. Feeding ratios matter. And every starter has its own rhythm.
That’s part of what makes sourdough so fascinating. The more closely you observe, the more your starter has to teach you.
I’m looking forward to sharing what I learn from these little kitchen experiments in future issues of The Weekly Rise.
Coming Out of the Oven
One of the biggest questions I hear after someone gets comfortable with their starter is:
“How do I know when bulk fermentation is finished?”
Unlike a recipe timer, dough doesn’t always follow a schedule. The same recipe can ferment at different speeds depending on your kitchen temperature, your starter’s strength, and even the flour you’re using.
Next week, we’ll explore one of the most important skills in sourdough baking—learning to read your dough.
You’ll learn:
Why bulk fermentation is about more than time.
The visual signs your dough is ready to shape.
Common mistakes that lead to under- or over-fermented loaves.
How to build confidence by watching your dough instead of the clock.
Plus, I’ll include another FREE printable Reference Corner guide to help you recognize the stages of bulk fermentation at a glance.
Until then, take a few extra moments to watch your dough during your next bake. The more you observe, the more confident you’ll become.
Until Next Time…
Thanks for spending a little time with me this week. I hope you learned something new and found a bit of inspiration for your next bake.
I'd love to see your starter this week. Reply to this email or tag me in the Blue Ridge Sourdough Community.
See you next week!
Happy Baking!
Liked this week's issue? Know someone who loves Sourdough?
Forward them this issue and invite them to join The Weekly Rise.
Want the next issue delivered to you?
Get The Weekly Rise delivered straight to your inbox.
