August 16, 2018 - 8:57am
Just Need a Quick Pointer on My Starter
Esteemed Bakers!
My starter has been behaving a bit inconsistently lately. Nothing disastrous, but I'm just seeking a couple pointers on "best practices."
First, after feeding a refrigerated starter, do you put it back immediately or let it rise to peak, or let it rise but not to peak (ie when it's still young), before putting it back to sleep?
Second, whenever I want to refresh a refrigerated starter for baking, should I only feed it once and wait for it to reach the desired levain stage, or should I feed it over the course of a day or two (like 2 or 3 feedings)?
Lastly, what do you actually consider as a young levain? Before it reaches peak, or the beginning of the peak stage?
Thank you!
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first, i would put the sourdough back to the fridge after 2 feedings, directly after the second feeding time, i do this weekly and so far my starter is liking it. (I try to leave them out of the fridge the entire weekend so I ca play around with it or just admire it lol) I find that leave it out for a while keeps the strength of the starter better than put it right back to the cold. And i also noticed that starters that frequently sit in the fridge for longer period of time are quite sluggish and needs more time, warmth and food to revive properly, but that might be different for each starter.
second, for me it usually works better if i feed it 1-2 times before i build my levain, simply because it has more predictable growth and i can schedule the baking better.
I think a young levain is when the starter almost doubled but not quite. For example my rye starter would start at 80ml and peak at 180ml, and I will consider it a young levain when it reaches 140-150ml, when the bubbles are still quite fine. For me it only takes 3 hours in a warm place and it always passes the float test.
Thisvis exactly the type of experience sharing that I was looking for! Yes, I’ve noticed that my starter is super sluggish after coming out of the fridge, even after a couple feedings at room temp. This wasn’t the case when my starter was first created a few months ago. Back then it was really active, even if I took it right out of the fridge after a weeklong rest. I’ll try what you’re doing (feed it a couple times before putting it back in the fridge.
Quick point of clarification though. You say in your first paragraph that you put it back directly after the second feeding, but later you say that the starter keeps its strength if you leave it out a while before putting it back into the cold. So after the second feeding, do you suggest immediately putting it back in the fridge, or you let it rise for a while (like double) before putting it back? Thanks again!
thanks and im glad to help :)
I forgot to mention that I have 2 different starters, a rye starter that i feed with rye and spelt and it's very reliable,
another starter with white flour and durum wheat flour, a little experiment and has a very lovely smell.
So If im baking with rye starter (the brunette) I will usually put the durum starter (the blonde) back to fridge after 2nd feeding and leave the rye starter out for the whole weekend, to make the starter more active and also just in case that my bake fails, I can start another loaf immediately. I try to vary between the starters each week so they both get a chance to stay warm for the entire weekend every second week.
hope that would make more sense :) I only started baking sourdough a few months ago and so far the starters work pretty good :)
First, after feeding a refrigerated starter, do you put it back immediately or let it rise to peak, or let it rise but not to peak (ie when it's still young), before putting it back to sleep?
I used to put my starter back in the fridge quite soon after feeding. However because I use my starter as a seed only, and use it to build levains, it sat in the fridge for a while between feeds and was only fed when it ran low. For me to then feed it and not allow it to activate and bubble up meant they were never allowed to become very active and therefore became sluggish. I now allow it to at least double before refrigerating. My 70% hydration whole rye starter can last a couple of weeks, before it needs feeding again, this way even if it's been allowed to bubble up. When I used to do a 100% wheat flour starter then maximum a week between feeds, I found. My starter now is strong and springs into action.
Second, whenever I want to refresh a refrigerated starter for baking, should I only feed it once and wait for it to reach the desired levain stage, or should I feed it over the course of a day or two (like 2 or 3 feedings)?
What do you mean by "wait for it to reach the desired levain stage"? Are you building a levain or are you feeding your starter and taking some off to put into the dough?
For me, whether the building a levain or feeding the starter, the process I have at the moment discussed in the first question allows for a strong enough starter for a single feed.
Some people do 2 or 3 feeds but I suppose it depends on your starter and how you maintain it. If it's always necessary or not will depend on how your starter performs.
Lastly, what do you actually consider as a young levain? Before it reaches peak, or the beginning of the peak stage?
More often than not I use my starter when it's very active and smells good. This produces a lovely tasting loaf (as long as I do everything else right). Peaking is a good rule of thumb when making sourdough. Now should you wish to manipulate a starter for a sweeter or tangier taste then you can either catch it earlier or later. If you want more tang then the longer you leave it the more tang it'll have. And sooner for sweeter. So when I'm trying to go for a young levain what i'll do is a two stage build, allowing the first build to peak but then catching the second build about 3-4 hours after feeding. So just under I guess. If you allow the first build to peak then you've given it some strength and then if you feed it again, to take the tang off, then even if you catch it a bit too soon as long as you give the dough enough time it'll work.