The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Newbie wondering where to start. Have tried kombucha for starter

Sarahh's picture
Sarahh

Newbie wondering where to start. Have tried kombucha for starter

Hi

Ive made a handful of sourdough loaves and would like to perfect it!  I made a starter by adding rye flour to kombucha. 

Is this reliable or should i get ahold of some 'real' starter

All these different terms like hydration and proofing...where can I learn what it all means and how to make some beautiful bread??!!

Also my starter bubbled up then went back down before I used it, did I miss the boat on this one, am I supposed to use it when its at its peak ?

Thanks kindly

 

Edo Bread's picture
Edo Bread

The answers to your questions can be found on TFL if you do a little searching. Once a starter is going it is "real" no matter what method was used to get it going. You can find detailed information on a lot of the terms. I am pretty sure there is even a glossary page - but the for the two you have:

Hydration is the percentage of water to flour. This becomes clearer if you also find Bakers percentage or Bakers math.

Proofing is letting the dough rise before baking 

You did miss the optimal time for using your starter. You still can it will just take some different techniques. Otherwise, wait until you give it another feeding and catch it on that growth slope.

Sarahh's picture
Sarahh

Thanks Edo Bread. Appreciate it!!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

by Ken Forkish. That book is what got me going in the bread world. There are a number of other books that are just as good or better (each baker here has their favourite) so if that one doesn't do it for you, you have choices. 

A word of warning though about the timings of the recipes; many people find that his rising times were too long but for some reason, they were bang on for me. I had the same room temp as him (70f) so things worked out perfectly for me. 

The pluses to the book is that he goes into exquisite detail for all aspects of bread making including sourdough. I baked my way through the book and it gave me a solid foundation for trying my own thing and adapting other recipes to suit me or the ingredients I have on hand. 

Hope this helps!

Sarahh's picture
Sarahh

Thanks Danni.ill look up that book. I actually just got a email to say a book i reserved about sourdough at the library is ready to collect so ill get reading. For the rising times that vary, do you know when its ready by the poke test? I saw another post that explained what each 'poke' represented whether it sprang back or not

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

really well in his book. Basically, if you poke a well floured section of dough and it partially springs back, it is ready for the oven. If it completely springs back, the dough is not ready. If it stays completely indented, then the dough is over proofed. This works with dough that has been kept at room temperature. It doesn't work so well with dough that has been refrigerated and you will need to get used to see how much the dough has risen to know when it is ready if you go down that path.

If you also do more reading on the site, you will see that whole grain doughs should go into the oven slightly before they are completely proofed and white flour dough can go in when the poke tests lets you know they are ready. This will come with time and experience. I am still a newbie at this so I am still working on it too.

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

There is a very good glossary of bread baking terms here> https://www.weekendbakery.com/bread-baking-glossary/.

I haven't tried making a starter with my kombucha (especially the gloopy yeast strands left in the bottom of the fermenter), but I will. I'd also like to try a kefir starter. All kinds of goodness... :)