Starter Hydration and Maintenance
Hi all,
I was wondering what the difference was between a starter's hydration % and it's maintenance hydration %. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that there's a difference between the two.
If you currently have a starter that you are maintaining at 1:1:1, doesn't that make it 100% hydration starter? Why is it that I'm seeing all this complicated algrebra in the forums on changing the starter's hydration level? For instance, If I have 100% hydration and I want to convert it to 67% hydration starter, wouldn't I just feed it 1:2:3 (s:w:f) and then continue to maintain it at that ratio?
I'm soo confused! I currently have a starter that I'm feeding 1:1:1 but would like to bake a loaf of SD from PR's ABED. It looks like his mother starter is 63%. So to convert, wouldn't I just take a portion of what I have now and feed it 2:3 at my next refresh?
Thanks!
You'll laugh me out the building, but when a recipe forces a certain starter hydration on me, say 67%, I'll mix up 100 g of food (flour, usually), 67 g of water in a bowl and let it rest for a bit. I'll mix again and note the general consistency. I'll then feed my starter such that it achieves said consistency. Works like a charm, if not the level of precision I usually deploy.
I don't do this for new breads, as I need to know what success looks like, but once I've mastered a bread, I use the more general method.
In this (hydration) and many other things bread (starter creation, maintenance, many of the more ridiculous stretch/folding techniques, etc.), I've become (over 10 years, of course) the first to say, "Thou doth protest too much!"
Hi Dvuong,
MiniO has a way with words and offered this quite clear explanation in another thread (can't recall which one):
Hope this is helpful to you.
I, too, have been maintaining (for only several weeks now) a starter with 100% hydration, and am interested in converting to 67% to follow one of Reinhart's sourdough bread recipes. I'd like to take a portion of this starter and convert to 67%, so thank you for the advice! How long do I need to feed at 1:2:3 before it's good to use?
Mira