Hello all! This will be my first post in The Fresh Loaf, I'm excited to join this community!
So basically my question is this: is there a general rule for the percentage of starter/levain that you would use in a sourdough formula based on how long you want to retard the shaped loaves in the fridge?
I've been making bread for my partner who is a chef to use at his restaurant, with mixed results. One of the issues I've been running into is that my schedule is a bit inconsistent, so I've been unable to control exactly for how long the loaves rest in the fridge overnight. In general, it spends about 14-16 hours I would say. I've been using 12.5% levain in my recipes, and sometimes the loaves rise wonderfully when they bake, sometimes not.
If anyone with some experience experimenting would this could help out, I would really appreciate it! I've been wanting to experiment myself, but haven't been able to find the time.
Thank you all in advance! I've included a photo of one of my better loaves :)
Well, the general rule (and one of the basics) is, less leavening agent = longer times, and vice versa.
I always figured x amount of starter/yeast will do something in 4 hrs, 2x would be 2 hrs, .5x would be 8 hrs., if everything else is the same. Is that exact - hardly, but you get the idea.
The variables would make it difficult of not impossible to give exact numbers, especially as I would imagine you would be looking for a high level of consistency in the loaves. Keep notes, make changes, track observations and results , see what happens with your starter (no 2 are exactly the same).
Hmm, here's a thought, if you can control temps, you have a quick easy solution. Remember, cooler takes longer, warmer takes less - time. Enjoy!
9-10% of prefermented flour to total amount of flour (including the prefermented flour). I try to stick to under 12 hours of fridge time at 38F but often end up with more than that. Hope this helps.
I think one of the most overlooked post on sourdough on the internet is this one and its accompanying spreadsheet. Sadly Bill hasn't been active for quite a while but the math stands up. His insight about logarithmic activity is really useful.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com//node/6660/comparing-sourdough-fermentation-strategies
Google sheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19gUTdsXJttJPJRX7P3Qrqs2Yz4vTDLmk6qB0RarfmcY/edit?usp=sharing
For your purposes the sheet most useful is probably the one entitled "table"