Hi all!
I come to ask for help after reading a loooot of the posts on this website and in a lot of other blogs. I am very confused.
I started my lievito madre by converting it from my sourdough starter that works amazingly. The LM grows pretty well when I leave it for 12 hr+ at room temp(18ºC to 20ºC), but then when I do the warm refresh and leave it from 3 to 4 hours most of the times it maybe doubles but for sure doesn't triple. And after that it smells and tastes acidic, I don't have a PH reader so I'm not sure what the PH would be.
I'm using tap water and M&S Canadian very strong White bread flour(I am based in the UK) that has 14.9g of protein. I'm not sure if this is a problem but most of the time i do small batches so i don't waste flour, so like 25gr:25gr:10gr, i have also read that some bakers the minimum that they do is 100gr, so I'm don't know if this could be contributing to my problem.
I have tried multiple methods to make it less acidic(maybe i should be more consistent with them), like the bagnetto, i have added very little honey to the dough, i have feed it 1:2:0.45, and all of these after the warm refresh it is still acidic and it has not tripled in the correct amount of time.
I used to keep it just in a jar, so simply using the free method but after reading more about it i started submerging it in water and it would float in about 4 hours(didn't look like it tripled), but then when i would do the warm refresh it still would not triple in the correct time. (The image show my LM after 6h at 27º C)
I have also tried to wrap it and tie it at night but tbh i have not been consistent with this method.
The method of the upkeep of the LM seems to vary a lot from baker to baker and i don't know which one would be the best to stick with and do. Should i do 2 to 3 warm refresh(even if it hasn't tripled) in the day and then keep in water overnight, or would this make the LM to acidic? Should i only do one refresh in the morning and feed 12 to 24 hours later?
Does anyone know what i can do to make it triple and less acidic?
Thank you in advance!
It appears as if the consistency might be too soft.
Does it double in 3 hours?
Heya!
It doubles in 3/4 hours but closer to 4. And after that, it starts smelling and tasting quite acidic.
If it were to consistently double in 3 hours it might be worth trying to use it for a bake just to get a feel for its ability. There are physical effects that result from fermentation that can restrict reaching triple volume... Either it is softening too much or it is becoming to stiff, the right consistency is the more important than a specific hydration.
The reason for a 3/4 hour window is to reduce acidity and if it ferments past that, it will inevitably build up too much. The leavening from yeasts needs to be established first, i.e. it needs to ferment until CO2 production ceases.
If you let it ferment past 4 hours with a 1:1 feed at 28C, then I would make the next feed a 1:2 ratio. That is at least a rule I have been following in establishing a new LM...
Overnight is bound method at room temp 18-20C 22C max.
After doing this a number of times, I no longer need to let it ferment past 4 hours, the yeast completes in that time now.
Thank you so much for the explanation!
This makes a lot of sense, I have always been following the hydration and not paying much attention to the consistency.
Appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I will try this method out and keep you posted on how it goes.