new and not an expert, but getting frustrated with terminology and confusing recipe. what is "stiff dough levan (45%) got this from the Rustic bread recipe.
Hi malu, I understand your frustration, there are a lot of terms that sometimes aren't well defined. A stiff levain usually has enough flour in it to make it kneadable, as opposed to a liquid levain that can usually be stirred. The percent refers to the bakers percentage. If you do a search on this site for 'bakers percentage' you'll find lots of explanations. Basically for 45% levain it would be made up of 100 parts flour, 45 parts water, for a total of 145 parts. This can be grams, ounces, etc. So if you had a stiff levain and wanted to refresh it you could add 100 grams water, 45 grams water.
bakers percentages are weight-based. As occidental notes, which measurement system you use isn't important, so long as your measurements are weights. Volume measurements will not give the right results when talking about percentages.
Thank you very much, I appriciate the time you took for the explanation. I suppose trying to start a new intrest will take a bit of time to research and learn. I am sure my wife is happy I did not take up brain surgery, although the chemistry part is probably the same. Needless to say again thank you. I will get better with help from kind people like you.
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stiff levain
Hi malu, I understand your frustration, there are a lot of terms that sometimes aren't well defined. A stiff levain usually has enough flour in it to make it kneadable, as opposed to a liquid levain that can usually be stirred. The percent refers to the bakers percentage. If you do a search on this site for 'bakers percentage' you'll find lots of explanations. Basically for 45% levain it would be made up of 100 parts flour, 45 parts water, for a total of 145 parts. This can be grams, ounces, etc. So if you had a stiff levain and wanted to refresh it you could add 100 grams water, 45 grams water.
Just to emphasize the point,
bakers percentages are weight-based. As occidental notes, which measurement system you use isn't important, so long as your measurements are weights. Volume measurements will not give the right results when talking about percentages.
Paul
Weight
Looks as though I have an abundance to learn. This looks like the place to learn it. Many thanks.
Levain
Thank you very much, I appriciate the time you took for the explanation. I suppose trying to start a new intrest will take a bit of time to research and learn. I am sure my wife is happy I did not take up brain surgery, although the chemistry part is probably the same. Needless to say again thank you. I will get better with help from kind people like you.
Malu