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use less flour to top it up. 25g of each is fine per day
Sorry to jump in, but do you mean 1:1:1 of starter:flour:water each day (ie 25g starter, 25g flour, 25g water) or something different?
I've been doing 1:1:1 for the past year and it's been relatively ok, but i think the reason it hasn't been great is because I'm not baking in a cast iron casserole...
Colm89-
Method: In one jar add 25g of water, 25g of flour. Do this daily until you have activity - usually a week. You may need to discard some of this. Discard before topping up, obviously. When it looks ready for using (bubbling a lot a few hours after adding a top up), top it up with larger quantities so you have enough for your dough.
Use the amount of starter needed for your dough - if you're judged it well, there shouldn't be loads of starter left in the jar, add 25g water, 25g flour, and leave until you next need it. Bung it in the fridge if you won't use it again in the next week.
If you've fridged it, bring it out a day before use and bang 25g flour, 25g water in, then top that up to the quantity you need for your dough once the mix is bubbling from the post fridge top up.Since getting my starter going about a month ago, I've only discarded starter once. It doesn't need fed all the time, nor in big quantities. I've changed the container once as I just leave it out with the lid ajar and it was a bit messy. It always has good activity when I top it up, and I don't bother fridging it because it gets used twice a week to make bread/pizza.
Nef
Why? Also, use less flour to top it up. 25g of each is fine per day. Are you in London? If so the hardness of the water might be an issue. Try using bottled water for a few days and see if that makes any difference.
Kitchen would be better as there's more of the yeast bacteria in the air in those places (as I understand it), leaving the jar by an open window is also supposed to help - although I'm not sure how true this is if you're in the middle of a very urban environment. Is the lid ajar/the container covered with something breathable? Nowt will happen if the airborne bacteria can't get to the mixture. What's the temperature in the cupboard like? Unless your kitchen is absolutely freezing, I'd be keeping it in there.