SCS 021| Sourdough Starters And Preferments

@ Marco99,

Thanks for posting that link, I completely forgot about it. That's a nice looking starter. That's actually the preferred method that Alan Scott and Daniel Wing used in their book, The Bread Builders.

@ Rasishi,

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the podcast.

Hey Silver Cat,

Good to hear you've been having success with your sourdough starter and bread. We'll be talking a lot more about different formulations in the next episode. I'm actually running some tests right now for some new recipes. The most promising one is 100% whole wheat with no added fat. It's in the bulk fermentation stage right now, but if it works out, I'll be posting the recipe soon.

Thanks for your comment.

Thank's Elliot, let me know how your starter comes back. Also, I noticed you said "slow carb" and not "low carb." Does this mean your diet allows for slow digesting carbs like whole grain wheat? I've been doing a bunch of testers on 100%, whole wheat sourdough loaves and I'm getting close to creating a lean dough, artisan style boule, that only contains whole, and isn't as dense as a brick.

I really like Peter Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads," but I've never been satisfied with the texture or oven spring of any 100% whole wheat, lean dough bread I've made. It doesn't have anything to do with Reinhart's or any other recipes, but the nature of these breads in general. I've slowly been getting closer to what I want, but I'm not happy yet. Still a few more tests to do.

@StricingTwice,

Yep, that's correct. You can also add a small spike of yeast the following day to your final formulation just for insurance purposes, but the preferment will leaven the white bread and give you a superior flavor.

Let me know how it turns out.

Jacob

Thanks George. Welcome to Stella Culinary.

Starters become intuitive after awhile. You just have to get in there, pay attention to it's activity level, and then post any issues or questions you may have in our friendly forum.

Hi Joe,

Welcome to Stella Culinary. Glad you're enjoying the site. Let me know if you have any questions as you work your way through our content.

@ AngeGrow,

This video should answer your question: http://stellaculinary.com/how-to-convert-any-bread-recipe-to-sourdough

@ EinWindir,

Glad you found Stella Culinary. Let us know how your sourdough journey un-folds.

Hey Chill, welcome to Stella Culinary.

In general, about half of your dough's total flour weight should come from the starter, to get a 3 hour bulk ferment and 1-2 hour proof. To make a 100% hydration levan, simply use the same amount of water as you do flour, and subtract those two amounts from your final dough formulation.

That's the short answer.

Bur to really understand this topic, I would recommend first listening to this podcast episode, and reading the two articles linked at the top of the page. Then watch my sourdough starter conversion video, which will also help you understand how to use a preferment in any bread recipe.

Let me know if you have any more questions while you're working your through this information. You'll also want to watch the video on baker's percentage, linked at the top of this page.

Hey Richard,

If you haven't yet, listen to the next episode of the podcast, episode 22. This question is discussed in depth.

The short version is cold fermentation, whole grains, and slowing down fermentation. Try feeding your starter whole grain flour and storing it in your fridge. You can also delay fermentation during the bulk fermentation and proofing stage by placing the dough in the fridge. This will cause more acetic acid to be produced, which will give you a more sour flavor.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hey Westgate,

Welcome to Stella Culinary. Glad you found the bread podcasts helpful.

So if you want to keep an active starter in the fridge, you should feed it every 3-5 days, depending on how active your starter is. Then when it comes time to bake, you feed your starter once at room temperature and wait for it to pass the float test (about 4-12 hours, again, depending upon how active your starter is, and how hot your room is).

Once your starter passes the float test, you're ready to make some sourdough bread.

Now if you want to put your starter into suspended animation, you can do this by feeding a healthy starter once, and then place it in your fridge with a lid or plastic wrap, and leave it be.

However, the starter will be in hibernation, causing it to be sleepy and hungry. This is why you need to pull it out of the fridge a few days in advance of when you plan to bake, and go through a couple of feeding cycles to get the starter reinvigorated. Once the starter passes the float test, it's active enough to bake with.

With a brand new starter, after 10 days, it should be ready to bake with, and you can start storing it in your fridge to slow down fermentation and spread out the feeding cycles. Right now, my starter is so active that it passes the float test 3 hours after feeding if kept at room temperature. So at the restaurant, where we bake bread every day, we feed the starter, let it sit at room temp for about 30 minutes, and then store it at room temperature. This gives us an 18-48 hour window of the starter being active for baking.

But like I talked about in the podcast, you really just have to pay attention to you starter; get to know how active it is, how it responds to feedings at room temperature vs. refrigeration storage, etc. Just listen to your starter, and it will tell you everything you need to know.

If you want your starter to mature faster, then keep it at room temperature for the full 30 days, feeding every 12-24 hours. But like I said above, after 10 days, your starter's fermentation can be slowed down by storing in the fridge.

Let me know if you have any more questions.