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Sourdough and Starters

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Capturing the wild yeasts.

agrossbl's picture

white flour and proportions

May 23, 2013 - 9:10am -- agrossbl
Forums: 
Sourdough and Starters

I recently started feeding my starter all purpose flour instead of whole wheat. I'm still feeding it at 1:1:1 by weight, but the consistency seems quite thinner. Should I give it more flour so that it maintains the older consistency, or is it fine? (With whole wheat flour, the consistency was like biscuit batter, now it is more like muffin batter).

Also, should I keep feeding it 1:1:1? How do I know when/if to change that? I was reading recommendations of 1:2:2 or 1:5:5.

Thanks!

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agrossbl's picture

Will my starter be OK in the fridge?

May 19, 2013 - 6:14pm -- agrossbl
Forums: 
Sourdough and Starters

Hi!

So I have heard that it takes about 30 days for a starter to be "mature." I am going to be going out of town next weekend, and it will have been 3 weeks since I started. It seems to be healthy- bubbles nicely, about doubles in size after 8 or a few more hours. Do you think it will survive in the fridge for about 3 days without feeding?

 

Also, I have only been feeding it WW flour. Do you think it would be ok to start feeding it all purpose?

 

Thanks in advance!

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TheMadWookie's picture

Is it the water?

May 19, 2013 - 11:14am -- TheMadWookie
Forums: 
Sourdough and Starters

I have had, for several years now, a white flour based starter. Over the last year or so, the sour has dropped to practically nothing. I have recently changed my feedings from 100% white to 20% rye , 80% white. Just to be clear, my percentages are based on weight and the hydration is 100%, thats is equal flour and water by weight. The white flour is a high protein unbleached flour. The rye is an organic rye from a local grocery's bulk foods section.

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baragouiner's picture

Rye starter vs white starter

May 16, 2013 - 1:02pm -- baragouiner
Forums: 
Sourdough and Starters

Hi,

This is my first post but I've been trying to bake sourdough for a few months. What I'm wondering is whether different starters are more or less active than each other e.g. is a rye starter is more active than a white starter?

I've managed to start and maintain a rye starter and am using it to make 100% strong white loaves but wonder if I'd get better results using a white starter with white flour.

Thanks,

Graham.

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redif2003's picture

Sourdough air pocket distribution problem

May 16, 2013 - 8:30am -- redif2003
Forums: 
Sourdough and Starters

Dear skilled bakers of TFL,

I have been baking bread for around a year now (mainly flat bread). Recently, I have developed an interest in sourdough bread; and in the past month, I have attempted Tartine country bread a couple of times (4 times actually). My most recent bake was last night, and given it was a weekday bake, it turned out alright and tasted fantastic. However, I yet have a very long way to master my scoring skills.

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cegueira's picture

I think my starter is ready

May 14, 2013 - 6:45pm -- cegueira
Forums: 
Sourdough and Starters

Hi, I started my starter about 2 weeks ago following a BBC good good food recipe which didn't seem to work. I tried to bake a loaf, it didn't rise and afterwards the starter smelt of rotten eggs! I started feeding it wholemeal flour, it went through a nail polish smell phase, but now seems to be ready.

Since the first baking attempt I have been feeding like this: 90g wholemeal flour, 90g warm water and 90g of the starter. I now have a very airy starter that seems ready to bake.

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