August 29, 2020 - 4:02pm
Using a higher percentage of starter results in way better breads for me. Why is that?
I can't figure it out. My breads have been turning out really shitty when I use ~20% starter vs when I use ~38% starter that the King Arthur no knead sourdough bread recommends (which is my go-to). I even put separate dough in a little jar and wait for it to double to see when fermentation is done. It's so aggravating. Please help. :(
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Are you calculating the starter percentage as the weight of the starter or the weight of the flour in the starter as a percentage of the total flour in the dough?
The standard these days is to think of the starter in terms of the percentage of pre-fermented dough. So, for example, if your total dough has 1000 grams of flour, and you use 400 grams of starter that is 100% hydration, that would mean the starter contains 200 grams of flour. You would be adding the other 800 grams of flour in mixing the final dough. So, your dough would contain 20% pre-fermented flour.
That would be a pretty typical starter content for a sourdough bread. (There are many exceptions, of course.)
Hope this helps.
David
I calculate starter as a percentage of flour. I thought that was how bakers percentages worked haha, but I was never positive. Here's a pic of the crumb: https://i.imgur.com/we8SAwp.jpg
I cut it while it was still a little warm. It tasted good and the crumb seemed okay, but its just not rising nearly as high as it should. The oven spring just isnt very impressive.
Well, what do ya mean by shabby? Without info all I can say is you have an appropriate handle - seriously, more info needed. There's only enough here to make s wild guess.
Here's a pic of the crumb: https://i.imgur.com/we8SAwp.jpg I cut it while it was still a little warm. It tasted good and the crumb seemed okay, but its just not rising nearly as high as it should. The oven spring just isnt very impressive.
Hard to tell but is it gummy and dense?
Higher percentage of starter means a higher amount of developed gluten, which leads to a stronger network and overall a better and tangier product. Preferments (like poolish, biga and sourdough) not only give nice flavor, they also give strength to your dough.
Higher percentage of starter means a higher amount of developed gluten, which leads to a stronger network and overall a better and tangier product. Preferments (like poolish, biga and sourdough) not only give nice flavor, they also give strength to your dough.
You also don't need to wait until it has doubled during bulk fermentation, you run the risk of overfermentation. 30-50% growth is enough.
In general, sourdough bread flavor benefits from a long, slow fermentation. A higher percentage of starter results in faster fermentation.
In the Sourdough workshop at the San Francisco Baking Institute, aka "Artisan II Workshop," one day we did a blind taste test of breads made with differing amounts and kinds of starter. There was essentially universal agreement that the best tasting bread was made with 20% pre-fermented flour in a liquid levain fed twice at 12 hour intervals. The worst tasting bread was the one made with 40% pre-fermented flour in a liquid levain. FYI, the bread made with 20% pre-fermented flour in a firm levain was felt to be good but not as good.
David