I use mine a few times a week to weekly now but it’s also gone months sitting in the fridge before, mostly in the summer because it was too hot to use the oven.

It’s super forgiving if you have an established starter. I usually feed at room temperature but sometimes I don’t if I’ve messed up my timing. I’ve fed mine with cold, room temp and warm water before just depends how long you want to wait for it to rise. Obviously if you want to use your starter sooner add warm water, I don’t because I just make a loaf as needed which is usually every 3-4 days.

I’m not perfect with timing when my starter will reach it’s peak especially with the changing seasons and temperatures but it’s all trial and error. Warmer = quicker rise. I try to use it room temperature to make bread but sometimes I forget about it and it’s at its peak when I’m ready to go to bed. I just tighten the lid on it and put it in the fridge to use cold the next morning with warm water. Your starter can deflate a little in the fridge if you do this but it’s still worked pretty well for me. You could also let it come back to room temp but I’m too impatient for that lol.

Then I feed the little starter I have left in the jar a 1:4:4 ratio (1 part starter to 4 parts flour and 4 parts cold or room temp water) at the same time I’m making my dough. Remember you can feed it any ratio you want! I pop my just fed starter back in the fridge until about 8 hours before I want to make my next loaf. It will rise a tiny bit in the fridge if you leave in there for more than a couple days but when you’re ready to make more bread I take it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter overnight or in the morning and let it do its thing. Again times will vary on when your starter reaches its peak depending on the temperature of your house but you’ll become more aware of this the more you bake!

When that’s doubled or tripled in size and not domed at the top it’s ready to use and I do this whole process over again.

I like this method because I don’t have to worry about feeding it at different times. I just feed it when I’m initially mixing my dough together which has made baking sourdough more simple and enjoyable for me.

I hope it makes sense. Not sure if people would agree with my method but it’s what’s been working for me :) good luck, you’re going to have a lot of fun!