other times I use a 100% hydration levain and adjust the dough adding a bit of water as I knead. but this is just personal preference, either way will work.
I actually have been keeping my levain at 100%, cause when I did Hamelman's 125%, I didn't get as much expansion from the levain, and could not tell how well it was growing compared to the lower hydration. (my kitchen stays cold) It doesn't seem to hurt as long as I adjust the recipe to match water volume. It's a little bit of a hassle because of the way the quantities are given in his book, but it works.
I keep my starter in the fridge at 100%. When I make sourdough I follow Hammelman's approach and grow the culture up overnight with the following ratio of starter:water:flour - 1:2.5:2 which gives me 125%. Because the resulting starter is not as stiff, you don't see observable expansion but you do see lots of small bubbles on the surface when you look at it the next morning. For 1000gm of dough I use 225gm of the 125% starter.
For every one part starter you'd feed it 2.5 parts water and 2 parts flour, all in grams.
E.g. 10g starter + 25g water + 20g flour
10 x 1 = 10g starter
10 x 2.5 = 25g water
10 x 2 = 20g flour
So the formula isn't giving you how much in grams rather it's giving you the ratio of the feed. Whatever the amount of starter you start with you'll feed it 2.5x it's weight with water + 2 x the starter's weight with flour.
LAB and yeast love high hydration so thongs happen much faster and pros love fast to shorten their baking schedules and it is so thin it won't rise much since the bubbles aren't trapped they just rise to tehhe surface and break.,
You could use your regular starter but be sure that you account for the extra water and add it to your dough.
This is a pro for making a levain
other times I use a 100% hydration levain and adjust the dough adding a bit of water as I knead. but this is just personal preference, either way will work.
Leslie
I actually have been keeping my levain at 100%, cause when I did Hamelman's 125%, I didn't get as much expansion from the levain, and could not tell how well it was growing compared to the lower hydration. (my kitchen stays cold) It doesn't seem to hurt as long as I adjust the recipe to match water volume. It's a little bit of a hassle because of the way the quantities are given in his book, but it works.
Or I use the Tartine formulas, which are at 100%.
I keep my starter in the fridge at 100%. When I make sourdough I follow Hammelman's approach and grow the culture up overnight with the following ratio of starter:water:flour - 1:2.5:2 which gives me 125%. Because the resulting starter is not as stiff, you don't see observable expansion but you do see lots of small bubbles on the surface when you look at it the next morning. For 1000gm of dough I use 225gm of the 125% starter.
1:2.5:2 = what is that in grams?
For every one part starter you'd feed it 2.5 parts water and 2 parts flour, all in grams.
E.g. 10g starter + 25g water + 20g flour
10 x 1 = 10g starter
10 x 2.5 = 25g water
10 x 2 = 20g flour
So the formula isn't giving you how much in grams rather it's giving you the ratio of the feed. Whatever the amount of starter you start with you'll feed it 2.5x it's weight with water + 2 x the starter's weight with flour.
and thanks!!!
Alan
LAB and yeast love high hydration so thongs happen much faster and pros love fast to shorten their baking schedules and it is so thin it won't rise much since the bubbles aren't trapped they just rise to tehhe surface and break.,