Hi from Johannesburg South Africa!

Just love this site.

I would like to make a Stiff Dough Levain using a portion of my Rye Liquid Levain (100% Hydration.) My month old Liquid Levain is a dream performer after 5 previous failed attempts. (All others developed like steroid bunnies for 3 days and then died after 4 days... :(   Maybe the daily temp here in Johannesburg during our current summer - 82 - 84 F? ) Also struggling with white flour starter. Tried pineapple juice, tried grapes, tried Evian water -all nix. If anyone has a fail-safe, invincible "never-say-die"white bread flour starter method or site link???

Can someone out there suggest to me percentage proportions of  raw rye flour and water required to mix with my 100% liquid levain that will make it a stiff dough levain of approx 65-70% hydration??? (In SA we use the weight system (cf to volume) for baking and use metric - much more accurate.)

Paul Z

Is there a standard hydration level for a liquid levain vs. a stiff levain? I was reading Leader's Local Breads this morning and noticed that his liquid levain has about 130 % hydrated vs. his stiff which has about 50% hydration. I've also been readin Michael Suas's Advanced Bread and Pastry and notice that some of his SD formulas call for a liquid levain while others require a stiff starter.

I realize there is probably not a rigid standard, but perhaps someone has some knowledge what constitutes one vs. the other. I'm also interested in knowing if a book discusses these terms. Oddly enough, Suas' book, which is very comprehensive, doesn't define the differences.

--Pamela

I've finally gotten a rise out of my stiff dough levain (from Leader's book titled "Local Breads").  The trick was to raise the room temperature from 76F to 80F.  I've switched now to 'refreshing' the starter and/or preparing for baking.  One point from the book isn't too clear to me.  Once I have refreshed the levain and let it ripened for 8-12 hours it says I can either use it right away or store it in the refrigerator for 1 week (before refreshing again).  My question is if I do refrigerate it, can I use it straight from the fridge to make bread or do I need to repeat the feeding and spend another 8-12 hours preparing the levain prior to using it?