One of the issues that still puzzles me to some extent is how to know when the sourdough has proofed enough and not too much. It seems like something that could be described and explained in words, pictures, and/or video, and many have tried, but it still feels elusive to me.

I wrote earlier that I feel the particular qualities of a certain starter will have a big effect on the length of time that proving can take. To learn more about my three starters, I learned how to do time-lapse photography and took a 24-hour time-lapse video (20 seconds) showing when the starters peak, and showing the time and temperature each step of the way.

The three starters are:

• TOP: Ken’s sourdough starter from Alaska
• MIDDLE: A starter I created using the “pineapple juice method” (h/t Debra Wink in the Fresh Loaf blog community)
• BOTTOM: A starter I created just from thin air, using all-purpose flour

During the spring when I made this video, I was in the habit of feeding the three starters once per day. Their behavior was relatively consistent each day, though the temperature in my house varies more it did in this video. Anyway, Ken’s sourdough peaks about 12 hours after being activated/fed.