Starter? Leaven? I'm so confused!
Hi,
So my boyfriend and I have been making sourdough for nearly two months now, have made around 12 batches of bread and have started to iron out the kinks. We're pretty happy with the results since we are fairly new to baking bread.
Up until now we have been using Richard bertinets recipe, with his 50% hydration starter. It goes by the name 'Peter' and we have been feeding him religiously since he was 'born' at the end of February.
I teach cake decorating classes and last week a student gave me two of her starters - a white one and a whole meal one, both of which she got 3 years ago from the E5 Bakehouse in Hackney, London. She's emailed me the recipe for the starters, but they are liquid and require To make a leaven before you use it.
I keep reading about feeding before using, and 100% starters but haven't tried this method before.
I suppose what I'm asking is, what is the difference between Bertinet's stiffer starter that you bake with and/or just refresh every 2/3 days and the liquid starters that I've been given which will keep untouched for 1 month in the fridge (so she told me) and that require you to make a leaven the day before. What are the pros/cons and differences between the two methods and would there be any way to convert the liquid ones to stiffer ones so that I can keep doing what I know? I really don't want to kill these starters that were given to me!
I've attached the recipes she gave me with the starters for reference.
Thank you all in advance!
You don't have to kill your starter if you want to use it in a stiffer form. Think of the starter as fuel for your bread. If a recipe calls for a liquid starter, you use what you have. If it calls for a stiff starter, you use what you have but feed it with a lower hydration level until it is the appropriate stiffness/hydration.
For example, when I make a 'levain" I take 1T of my active starter, disperse it into 100 grams of water, and then add 100 grams of flour. Within 12 hours it is a very active levain and I use the entirety of it to make 1 kilogram of bread dough.
But if I am following a formula that uses a stiffer levain, I might take 1T of active starter an mix it with 80 grams of water and 100 grams of flour.
As for converting from one to the other when you have a recipe that calls for one but you want to use the other, I can't really help you there. I just follow the directions but I use my same "starter" regardless.
keep to make what ever kind of levain is required for the bread at hand using what ever flour you need to use - 1 stage 2 stage, 3 stage, Detmolder or Deesm or any other kind of levain.
Welcome and Happy SD baking
What David Esq. described works. There is absolutely no reason not to approximate, especially once you know how the consistency starter you will be using is supposed to look and feel.
However, if you need to be precise, here is a tutorial that introduces the math you need: Converting starter hydrations: A Tutorial. Or through thick and thin and vice versa
Don't be alarmed by differences in recommended feeding schedules or whether your starter should be at room temperature or refrigerated between uses. In general, the larger the proportion of flour to starter in a feeding, the longer you can go between feedings. And, the firmer the starter, the longer you can go between feeding. And, the cooler the temperature, the longer you can go between feedings.
So, a liquid starter that you feed at a ratio of 1:1:1 (Starter:water:flour) and keep at room temperature may need to be fed every 8-12 hours. On the other hand, the way I keep my starter when I am not using it for a week is feed it 1:2:4, i.e., 50g starter:100g water:200g flour, and I refrigerate it. Then, before using it in a dough, I feed it twice, either as a liquid or firm starter, depending on what the recipe specifies and let it ripen at room temperature or warmer. The second feeding typically triples in volume in 4-6 hours and smells fruity.
I hope this helps.
Happy baking!
David
The terms 'starter' and 'levain' seem to be confusing at times. They are essentially the same thing - the only difference is how you will be using them at THIS exact moment. If you're refreshing it so you don't lose it forever then it's a 'starter' (or 'mother'); if you're refreshing it to make some bread then it's a 'levain' (or even a 'preferment'). That easy.
So now you are the proud owner of three starters (peter and 2 hackney's). In my book, it would be time to compare what each brings to the table. I'd make three levains; build three loaves using the same exact recipe process; bake three loaves. When I'm done, I'd sit down at a table with some olive oil and balsamic, and tear into those puppies to see if I could discern any difference and keep notes (or mental notes) of what each can do for me. I may find myself not wanting to maintain one (or more) because it's too similar to another. Come to think of it, I did this exact thing about two months ago; I went from three (white, white, rye) to two starters (white and rye).
Cheers!