Brotkraft's blog

Secret to a Consistent and Active Levain

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The single most important discovery for me as a baker the past year has been the double-fed sourdough.  Up until this time, both Stinky (wheat) and Sourpuss (rye) received single feedings that would ripen overnight and be incorporated in the next morning's mixes. Of course there were many considerations and deliberations and decisions to be made: the changing temperature of the room overnight, the temperature of the water, the amount of lead time before the final dough mix, the mother:flour:water ratio, and so on, and so on.  Although I was generally satisfied with the p

Video: Detmolder 2-Stage Fundamentals

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Beware:  this video scores high on the geek-o-meter!  So grab your favorite pilsner, get comfortable on the sofa, and prepare yourself to watch a long video outlining the science and mathematics behind the Detmolder Two-Stage Rye Sourdough Feeding Method (aka Detmolder Zweistufenfuehrung). 

This method is practiced widely throughout Germany and Austria. I have a preference for this method as it has wonderful complexity in flavor and a lot of leavening power. There is no necessity to use commercial yeast in conjunction with this sourdough.