The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Second Sourdough Feeding Question

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

Second Sourdough Feeding Question

Hey guys this afternoon at 3pm I took 50g of my starter from the fridge fed it 50 g. water and flour. It is now 10:15 and I was wondering if you guys could help me with the second feeding. Do I discard all but 50 grams of my starter and then feed it 50 g. water/flour or do I measure out the total and then feed it equal parts of whatever is in the jar.

I also did the same thing with 200 grams starter took it out at 3pm fed it 200 grams flour and water. How should I feed it for the second time? I need a total of 380 grams starter.

Could someone walk me in detail through the process of feeding right before you start baking with the starter!!!

I am not sure whether you discard any of the starter before the second and maybe third feeding? How many times should I feed it before using it? 

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

in size! 

chockswahay's picture
chockswahay

There are so many different ways and everyone has there 'own' method!

I take my starter out of the fridge and feed it with equal amounts of flour and water by weight (not volume!).  Then I feed it twice more before making up the dough. Here is a brief outline:

22:00  XXg each of starter, water, flour (total now = YYg)...... mix up and leave in the boiler cupboard

07:00  add YYg each of water and flour so now the total is ZZg

13:00  add ZZg each of water and flour

18:00  use AAg of the starter in the dough and use BBg plus BBg water and BBg flour to make the next starter and put it back in the fridge ready for next time!

This method will minimise waste, for example if you require 300g of fresh starter for the dough then start the sequence with just 13 grams of starter from the fridge

12 + 12 + 12 = 36

36 + 36 + 36 = 108

108 + 108 + 108 = 324  ( once you have mixed this set take 24g and put in a small jar in the fridge ready for next time)

You will then have 300g ready for the dough!

To be honest I am happy to make a little more and throw a small amount away because some always get lost in evaporation, sticking to spoons, jars etc.

You can change all the timing to suit your need and the flour/temperature etc.  I prefer to make my dough early evening, ferment for 2/3 hours then shape and put in the fridge overnight ready to bake the next day.

Dunno if all that will help or confuse you!

 

chockswahay's picture
chockswahay

Having just posted I notice that A BakEr had beaten me to it! :)

chockswahay's picture
chockswahay

Sorry, forget about the AAg + BBg bit ......... I was trying to be too clever for my own good!

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

I am a little confused about this step in the process. 

drogon's picture
drogon

In my world if/when I need 380g of starter what I do is ... well, just take the jar from the fridge that contains about 550g and use it directly without feeding, waiting, whatever. It will sink when you pour it into water, but that doesn't appear to make any difference to my breads. Maybe they take a little longer to rise.

If I only had a tiny amount of starter in my fridge (or needed more than 500g starter), then I'd divide that by 5, so 76. Take 76g from the starter in the fridge, add to that 2/5 water and 2/5 flour, so 152g water and 152g flour. In reality, i'd round it up, so 80g starter + 160g flour and 160g water. mix. let stand for 3-5 hours, use.

Which is what I'm about to do right now - I need 1350g levian, so starting with 270g starter from the fridge plus 540g flour and 540g water and in about 4 hours time I'll mix/knead this into 9 small and 4 large loaves, leave them to ferment overnight and in the morning do the scale/shape/proof/bake thing.

-Gordon

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

taking it out of the fridge? Recipes always ask for fed starter. I think I missed this last time I read the post. 

drogon's picture
drogon

... is that there is no one way to do it. There is no right, no wrong, there is the way that works for you.

Unless you're following some particular recipe that is.

My starter is a viable culture of yeasty beasties. (and lacto bactos) In the fridge they're just snoozing - almost on hold. It is somewhat slower to act when I use it directly from the fridge, but it's works just the same. It also doesn't pass the float test - mostly because all the gas in it has gently fizzed out.

A recently fed starter at room temperature will work faster - and there might be other reasons to use just a little bit of starter to which you've added flour & water to - maybe to reduce acidity - maybe to increase it, depending on time & temperature. Maybe you want to "refresh" it several times to make the acidity more milder and keep the yeasty beasties more active, or by feeding it different flours to increase the acidity - it's up to you. (and the recipe you're following)

I found that my breads were just as good with the starter directly out of the fridge as when fed/bulked up so I kept on doing it that way.

Well, almost. These days I'm almost always making several loaves and they take more starter than I keep in the jar in the fridge, so I'm forced to feed it up. e.g. tonight - I've just finished making up the dough - I needed 2400g of starter - so at about 4pm this afternoon I took 480g starter, added 960g flour and 960g water to it, mixed it up and left it covered. Immediately after that I topped-up the jar with 240g flour + 240g water and left it in the kitchen for a few hours then put it back in the fridge.

(The exception tonight was spelt - I keep a separate starter for that and I'm only making 3 spelt loaves which needs 250g starter, so I used it directly from the jar - that jar only got an hour or so at room temperature before going back into the fridge, but I'm not using it again until Saturday)

Tomorrow I will need double that, so will need to do a 2-stage build as I only keep about 550g in the jar.

-Gordon

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

I think Gordon and others have made it clear enough; just wanted to address the 'discarding' point in your original post. I think this is only required when you are first creating a starter, not once it is active and has developed the organisms that you want. After that, just build what you need and keep the small amount of 'mother' starter in the fridge for builds.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

don't bake a lot maybe a loaf or two a week and not every other day or for a living.  Once you start needing a lot of levain then you do things differently and thankfully there all kinds of ways to get the right amount of levain for every situation with no left over or discards.  What leads to too much is a combination of not baking enough, worrying that somehow the starter will be damaged if not fed every day or 12 hours and not knowing that there are alternatives that are better.  OK....Maybe some people, perhaps those who name their starters and think they are little butty babies, that need to take care of the poor things or are looking for something to do every day and just like feeding their starter.  All are great and most people eventually figure out what sort of starter maintenance is best for them.  For me it is no maintenance just like my wish for everything else around me.  Sadly, the yard,  pool, house, cars and motorcycles are horrible in that regard so I don't have time to maintain a starter:-)     

chockswahay's picture
chockswahay

Yup, keeping it simple and easy, I like that!

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

second time last night, 12 hours has passed. Is it ready to be baked with or should I feed it a third time, I have so much starter at this point for next time I will def. follow the comments above, I ended up making sourdough pancakes this morning with 511g of the starter. I still have so much more left. 

If I need to feed it the third time should I discard most of it or should I just bake with what I have now? 

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

but 126 grams and feed it equal parts water and flour to get the 380 for the recipe right? 

Also I have another starter which I started with 50 g. fed it 50 g. water and flour. 

Last night I fed it again with 100g water and flour. What should I do next with this starter? I am drowning in starter. 

Also I am at the 12 hour mark and I ran out of flour is it ok if I don't feed for another 3/4 hours? And how will that affect my baking schedule, will I have to feed it the third time weight 4 hours than start baking?