I have been reading through the different threads on here and also reading Crust but still wanted to confirm a couple of things. I really do appreciate all the help so far! I am passing it all back to my Godmother too as we are both really getting into SD baking.
First question, I started my starter a while ago now and when I tend to top it up every other time with 250g flour and 200g (roughly) of water (I am going on how it looks rather than a confirmed amount) This makes a nice bubbly starter in the jar so I assume this is ok to continue indefinitely like this?
If I am using it daily do I need to keep it in the fridge or is it ok on the dining table? (My two daughters have drawn a face on the jar and named it Billy so they both talk to it regularly!)
Third question on ratios, at the minute I use 375g flour, 250g starter and 200ml water. I'd like to make a slightly smaller loaf now that Mr J isn't eating bread so I have been googling recipes. Most have been for 500g flour, 300g starter and between 225 & 500 ml of water.
I am going to try halving one and trying for 250g flour, 150g starter and seeing how it looks as I add the water but wondered if anyone else had made a smaller loaf and could advise?
Thank you again for all your help, hopefully one day I will be able to repay this :)
Off to shape tomorrows loaf now so night all
J x
All this does is speed thongs up and speed with SD bread means less flavor. For a bread with 500 g of total flour I would 50 g of it in the levain with 10 g of starter and 50 g of water for a total levain amount of 110 g. You are using 30% prefermented flour - 3 times as much which is way mire than use in the winter time. You can then do ashort bulk ferment on the counter and wither a very long bulk or shaped retard in the fridge - say 18-21 hours and get a very nice tasting b read.
For 250 G of flour I would use no more than 74 g od levain. This gets you a smaller loaf too. 30% prefermented flour is when you are in a hurry and have no time to make bread.
Happy baking
I will certainly give it a go with less starter. That'll teach me not to just follow the recipe in the book :)
I have been using 60% preferment in mine! although recently I have tried reducing to 30%
I started using the recipe from Hobbs House Bakery in the UK however I notice that the starter is kept in the fridge is kept in the fridge (225 100%) then refreshed once with 75/75 and 12 hours later the ferment is used to make dough, leaving 75 remaining which is added to with 75/75 then back in the fridge!
I have now taken to simply keeping a 'mother' in the fridge then building 2 or 3 times at 1/1/1
I'm learning! (slowly)
:)
the 1-2-3 SD recipe.... easy to remember
One part (weight) starter, Two parts water, and Three parts flour.
To that add 2% of the flour weight in salt (adjust up or down to your preference.)
If you have a total weight of dough you desire, simply divide it by 6... to find out how much starter you need. You can also increase the starter amount a little bit to speed things up or use warm water in the recipe. Lots of ways to play with this basic 1,2,3.
Say you start out with 75g of starter...
To get water multiply starter weight by two or 150g water !!! --> hold back some of the water if the starter is runny or if the flour is not very absorbent
To get flour multiply starter weight by 3 or 225g flour
Salt.... multiply 225g x .02 = 4.5g salt
Have fun... :)
I have been reading that thread so will give that a go as nice and easy to remember!
I will try it tonight and let you know how it goes :)
1 part of the 'mother' or 1 part which has been built up from the mother?
I bake daily, but my starter(s) live in the fridge. If I fed them daily and left them out, I'd end up with a mess everywhere. (Of-course I could just use bigger jars!)
I tend to use 30% of the flour weight as starter.
A small loaf in my world might have 275g of flour and then 85g of starter. So say, 220g white flour, 55g wholemeal (= 275g in total) and 85g starter. Add 5g salt to that and 160g water and off you go.
Do weigh the water & flour going back into the starter. I keep my wheat starters at 100% hydration - equal water and flour by weight.
Cheers,
-Gordon
Hi Gordon,
I notice quite a few people as well as you use 20% wholemeal, can I ask why?
I have used 20 to 30% white in wholemeal sometimes to help improve lightness and rise, but never the other way round.
Cheers
Grahame
I think it improves flavour and colour. Think: "Country Loaf", etc. You can substitute about the same (or a bit less) wholemeal Rye or spelt if you like.
I make a 50/50 light brown loaf too (not sourdough) and a 100% wholemeal (again, not sourdough) on a regular basis too, but never an almost-wholemeal...
Cheers,
-Gordon
Thanks Gordon :)