November 15, 2013 - 9:02am
How to feed
My starter is ca 10 days old. I keep it in my oven with the light on, so it's in an environment between 71-77 degrees. I fed it avery 12 hours at a ratio of 1:1:1. Initially it was struggling to develop oomph, and then I came across Mini Oven's suggestion in another thread to feed at a ration of 1:1.5:2 every 24 hours. That did the trick. So I'm getting ready to bake. I found a recipe that asks for 9 oz of starter. My question is this: I currently have 4.5 oz of starter. How do I build this up to 9 oz? Do I keep feeding at the 1:1:5:2 ratio? Or should I use 1:1:1? And over how many days should I build the 9 oz?
Share
After 12 hours, when I stir it once to give it air, it's bubbly, like thick batter, easy to stir and it's got super stretchy strands, kind of like mozzarella. Does that sound right?
I'm interested ... I've seen Mini post in other thread to "give the starter a large feeding" with some suggested ratios.
I've recently moved from 1:1:1 to 1:0.5:1 (starter:water:flour) ... 50% hydration. Makes for a stiffer starter but the rise is much more evident.
I've also started using rye flour which has made a world of difference. The starter is more active and more "tangy" smelling. I have 2 dough balls (different recipes) that will bake tonight. I'm eager to observe the outcome. Plus the discards seem more interesting, which will (presumably) make for interesting sourdough waffles ... ...
of the 9 oz of starter needed in the recipe?
You have about half of the starter needed. How soon do you want to bake? When does your starter peak after you have fed it?
The hydration wasn't mentioned. I'd like to bake Wednesday. I feed the starter every 24 hours at 7pm; I'm therefore not exactly sure when it peaks, because I'm in bed from 10pm until 7am, but when I get up it's certainly strong looking and almost tripled. I then stir it, and it doubles again within 5 hours or so.
put it into the fridge until Tuesday, on Tuesday evening take out 50g and combine with 110g water and 110g flour mix well and let it eat covered overnight, then bake with it on Wednesday when it peaks. Any left overs get fed water and flour for your maintenance starter.
Thanks for the hands on answer, mini oven! Right now I still need some concrete advice before I'll feel confident to just experiment, and you've provided that.
you might want to add a tablespoon or two of flour and a little water so it has food for the next few days in the fridge.
I actually just fed it its normal amount (the 1:1.5:2) before I saw your email just now. I'll let it sit for 2 hours and then stick it in fridge. Hope that'll keep it happy.
it is rising, then put it into the fridge. I would give it a few more hours.
Yikes, I'll go to bed in 3 hours!! Hope it'll have stirred to life by then! If not, what would the downsides be to stick it in the fridge tomorrow morning, if any?
before you pop in bed, then you can forget about it until Tuesday.