how to choose between different levains
I've been baking sourdough for some years. I started with a levain from a friend, I tried to create my own a few times and failed, until one day it worked (it was created using AP flour). I've been using this levain (let's call him 1.0) for around 2 or 3 years, it's really strong and stable. This past weekend I decided to create a new levain (let's call him 2.0), now using a mix of whole wheat and rye flour. I'm in Brazil, and it's currently very hot (30-37 celsius / 86-98 fahrenheit). After 3 days my levain was already strong and predictable. In those first 3 days the smell was really bad (something like dirty socks), but after that, it was the best smell I've ever seen on a levain. It smells like banana and milk smoothie. I still haven't baked with the new one, because it's not even a week old. And levain 1.0 never had this amazing smell. A few months ago, when I started feeding it every day and controlling temperature and a higher range (around 27-30 celsius) it started smelling slightly like yogurt. This week it started smelling like grapes, now it has a more subtle smell that I can't describe. It's good, but not amazing.
My main question: how can I assess which is the best levain for me to keep for my everyday bake? Should I be tempted by this amazing banana smoothie smell, or should I keep my good old 1.0 levain?
Hey I am in Brazil too, just moved to Recife, any recommendations on good flour brands and where to find rye and farinha integral?
In terms of your levains I think the wonderful smell is definitely coming from using more whole grains. They tend to be more active because they have enzymes in them that the levain eats while often AP flour between the bleaching and ridding of the bran often is just kinda like sugar without the lasting power. If you don't want to use your old one for awhile it is totally okay to throw it in the back of the fridge and neglect it for a month or even throw it in the freezer and every three months or so take it out and feed and bake with it. Starters are a lot more resilient than people give them credit for.
If you really need to decide do a bake with both of them using the same conditions and see which one you like more (for some ways to think about how to taste bread check out this old post http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16458/how-taste-bread) The bacteria and yeast in the starter changes based on the flour that you are feeding it. I bet you that if you took your original starter and started feeding it the same thing as the new one within a few bakes they would be pretty similar.
Glad to hear you're in Brazil too! I'm in Jundiaí-SP. Rye is the most difficult to find, I usually find it in "empórios" or "mercado da cidade" and only in bulk. When I lived in São Paulo I could also find rye flour in organic markets. For whole wheat I'm using "fazenda vargem" and I buy it online from a supermarket in SP, but I imagine the shipping would be expensive to Recife. Check their website to see if they know of a place near you that sells their flour, it's a really good one. The other national brands I use are globo and venturelli, they're from the same mill. I like because I can find them at a pastry shop near me and they both have higher protein content (14% and 12%) compared to other national flours. I also use Caputo's Manitoba oro, but only a small percentage when I'm baking oil/butter enriched doughs.
Oh, I forgot to say, but I had already tried feeding 1.0 with a mix of rye and whole wheat for a while and it got a very very acetic smell, which resulted in a very acetic bread.
One of them will go to the fridge, I just haven't decided which one. I used to keep my levain in the fridge, I know it works great after I remove it and feed it a few times. I even neglected it for 3 months once, poor 1.0!
I'll check that link you shared, thanks!