Rye starter question
I have a KA starter that has been doing well for a bit over a year. It does really well on a Tartine style SD, a Deli style rye, and a Vienna SD bread, and of course pancakes & waffles. I feed it about once a week, let it sit out for 8-10 hours and then it goes back into the refrigerator.
I decided I wanted to start a starter from scratch, so I found some hobsons mill whole rye flour and managed to get a starter going. I made a Borodinsky bread based on a recipe I found here on TFL, it came out ok - a little dense so I have some work to do there.
My question is about feeding the rye starter. I have not put it in the refrigerator yet so it wants feed a couple of times a day. I can go 24 hours but it starts to get the alcohol smell. Is there a reason to stay with whole rye as a feeder - or would white rye do? Would the white rye provide more food (i.e no bran in the flour, just the endosperm) or is the bran and wild yeast it carries better for a new starter?
thanks, john
I've used whole wheat, white wheat, light rye, and whole rye at various times in my current starter. They all work, but I have found that feeding with whole rye creates the most vigorous starter--it doesn't just double at its peak, but almost triples. Light rye is also vigorous, but not quite so much as whole rye. (Similarly, I've seen better activity with whole wheat than white wheat.)
So, to answer your question--yes, light rye will do fine. I don't think it'll provide extra food (in fact, slightly less), but the main difference will be in the color and flavor of your loaf. Right now my starter is 100% whole rye, and even though I use a recipe calling for white wheat, you can clearly see and taste the bran in the crumb
If you built a levain with just a small portion of your starter, It doesn't matter if your starter is whole rye or not.
If you already have a culture, yeast from other sources is no longer needed :)
I use "white" rye for my starter. I feed it 1:2:2 (Starter:Water:Flour by weigh), let it sit for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature and then put it back in the fridge.
As to higher rise with whole rye: I think this is more because of the hydration. In a more hydrated dough, the gases can escape better. And whole rye absorbs more water therefore it is dryer and has a better rise. This doesn't mean it has more or less activity of the microorganisms.
Ok, thanks. I was not sure if the bran and germ had less food value by weight than the endosperm. It seems fine now- it's just not the same as my White AP flour starter, so my timing was off from what i expected to see.
I was a little disappointed in the rise in the Borodinsky bread made from whole rye - but after observing the rye starter for a few days I suspect it was a bit over proofed. My AP flour starter based doughs seem much less sensitive to proof time. I oopses once and left a tartine dough on the kitchen counter overnight instead of retarding it in the refrigerator, It came out fine.