Flavor profiles and Starter / Levain amounts
Gurus,
I am doing Forkish's Double Sweet Fed Levain recipe this weekend. I don't mind (so much) the waste after the first levain feeding, but I'm wondering if the amounts for the 2nd feeding are necessary. I'll post the numbers below but I understand that the flavor profile benefits from the initial starter amount being small. Not sure about the 2nd feeding.
Okay.
First feeding:
Mature levain: 50 gm,
White flour 200 gm, Whole wheat 50 gm,
Water 200 gm............. so total is 500 gm
After 3 hours you dump 250 gm and then have
Levain from 1st feeding: 250
white flour: 400 gm rye/ whole wheat : 100
water: 400.......................total 1150
Final dough (4 - 5 hours later)
Leavain : 540
Flour: 660 white, 40 (ww, rye)
Water 540,
salt 20
yeast 2
So I'm wasting 610 gm of the 2nd levain....Do you gurus think the flavor profile (mild) depends on these ratios? If I want to double the recipe (which I might if it's as good as I think it'll be) do you think I can use the same amounts for the first feeding and just use 1080 gm for the final dough and double the amount of flour and water etc in the final formula?
Thanks in advance
hester
Great to hear from you.
I'd never waste 610g leaven. If you can use it up in other recipes then by all means build that much. It won't go to waste and you can stick exactly to the recipe.
You can stick all the discard in the fridge which would be good as a leaven for other breads within the week. Or use it up in any other recipe that has flour and water.
Flavour profile would be more to do with keeping the ratio rather than building so much extra. As long as the starter to feed is the same ratio.
Otherwise I'd scale down and aim for no wastage.
I think I'll just start out as he says, and with the first build I'll save for some other recipe and for the 2nd, I'll just double the rest of the recipe... assuming I like it....
I actually think I have to use the initial 10% starter ratio for the flavor profile. Then I think I'm good to go.... and yeah, even wasting 250 gm of levain messes w me. I HATE it.
Thanks for the prompt reply.
He dumps the first lot quite early. This is to get the mellow flavour.
What I'd do is take off what you need for the second build but allow the first build 'discard' to continue to mature a bit more before refrigerating. When it is nice and active refrigerate and use in your next bread when ready.
Best of luck Hester.
I think I'll do that also (today) with the 2nd build discard, since I didn't plan in advance to do double the recipe. I'll add 50 gm of water to the 2nd "discard" (to get to the hydration level I like) and then leave it out over night. I'll go ahead with the recipe as written with the amounts he says.
Thanks so much. Yeah, I realized he dumps it and also has so little for flavor (flavour, lol) as you say. But I think I can use the amounts in the 2nd build as part of double the recipe, don't you?
Thanks again. you're the BEST!
hester
He dumps half and makes one bread. Whacky!
By all means use all of the second build to make two breads. You might have a tad leftover from the second build so just add it to the first build that would now be sitting in your fridge. You'll now have a nice load of mature starter ready to go for the next week.
he makes 2 loaves, but I'll just double the recipe next time after that 2nd build. Thanks so much. SO helpful