October 8, 2017 - 10:25am
Smallest safe sourdough starter size?
I've been using a quart size container for getting my starter going, but I haven't really been using all the space. I would only likely bake a loaf or two a week (using the refrigerating and taking out method), and am wondering if I could transfer NY starter to this container instead? Is it enough space to keep a starter going in, or do I really need it to be bigger than that?
Thank you!
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It looks large enough. The day before you plan to bread, refresh your starter and build it to the amount you need plus enough to save in the jar.
Ford
Keep a small amount of starter and treat it as a seed. So the starter is just a petri dish, as it were, for the yeasts and bacteria.
When it comes to baking we will take a little starter off and build an off-shoot starter what most of us refer to as a levain. This acts like a starter feed and is also the beginning of the recipe so it's built to the requirements of the bread you're making and won't necessarily be fed to the same hydration or flour as your starter.
When your seed, or starter, runs low just give it a feed and return it to the fridge in an active but not peaked state.
When using your starter this way you can keep a little at a time but at the same time build many different off shoot starters for different breads. Very easy to manage.
How much starter ( grams ) do you keep in the fridge ?
what ratio ? 1:1:1 1:1:2. ? 1:4:5 ? ( I learned that a 1:1:2 keeps Much better )
How much starter do you take out to seed your leaven ?
I f a recipe uses 100g ratio of 1:1:1 and you have a 1:1:2 starter how do you feed it to adjust to the recipe requirements ?
Thank you so much !
I'm actually just starting out, so I haven't even baked with it yet; also, I'm not sure what order the leavening, flour, and water go in for the ratio (other than that the leavening is first), but I have been using 2:1:1 for a while. It seemed like it was being eaten through too quickly (of course), so I lowered the amount of starter to more around 1:1:1, but I have only been doing the same amount of flour and water. The starter has been around 200g total.
If you want to use your starter as a mother by taking a small amount to build up into the starter / levain that goes into dough, you can keep a very small amount.
Otoh, if you want to take your starter out of the fridge and mix part of it right into the dough without the intermediate step, you'll need to keep somewhat more. In my case, I usually bake loaves that take ~500 gm of flour, and I keep ~150 gm of starter.
Fwiw, I keep it in a 400 ml jar. If I kept say 2/3 less in a smaller jar, the amount of shelf space I'd save would be effectively meaningless, for me anyway..
Okay, thank you! Yeah, I intend to use a small amount and make a levain.
I keep about 100 g of 100% hydration. I take out about 35 g and build it to the amount I need plus enough to replace that which I removed. I f you cannot do the arithmetic, don't worry, just build what you have at the 100% hydration ratio.
Ford
The better you'll grasp the idea and what works for you.
Keeping a 100% hydration starter is the most common and easiest to adjust to different recipes.
I keep a 50% hydration starter. Feed 10g starter with 25g water + 50g flour (40g bread flour + 10g wholegrain flour of either wheat or rye). This I keep in the fridge after it has activated but before it has peaked. It can last a while this way between feeds. When it comes to baking i will take a little off each time and build an off shoot starter to the requirements of the recipe. When my starter runs low, down to 10g, then I'll feed it again as above.
Depending on how long since the last feed I'll build a preferment in one or two builds. More often than not my starter is strong and the preferment is ready in one feed.
Okay, thank you!
I store my starters in the 2 cup plastic refrigerator bowls. I have marked the sides with the tare weight of the container (33g) and also the level for 300 grams of starter. My starters are all at 100% hydration so I use a 1:1:1 when extending or feeding them.
I normally bake about once a week so with 4 starters going each one gets used about monthly. If, due to vacations etc., they go over 6 weeks without being used it may take 2 or 3 feedings to get them back to their happy selves.
Thanks Ford And the other Jim ! So if I understand you do not give 3 feedings when used one of the 4 starters weekly and I supposed that doing a rotation every month would ensure a more sour bread ( this is what I am looking forward ) than if I feed the starter every week ! Right or no ? I appreciate so much your advices
For a single loaf of bread I bring the starter up to room temperature, mix 210g of flour with 210g of water, then mix in the starter. After this has rested overnight at 85 degrees I use 420g for the recipe and put the rest back in the fridge until next time. Then I add the rest of the ingredients to the 420g (is it levain at this point?) knead it and let it rise until double. Knead it again, form into a loaf, let it rise until double and bake.
My breads do not have a strong sour taste. If I want a specific flavor such as onion or cinnamon I add it when I make the dough.
The container size is fine for maintaining starter and not wasting much if you're not baking often enough to justify keeping a larger amount around, and wasting a lot of it with each feed. Others have given decent feedback on the container size.
The advice I'd like to offer is that the type of container is a concern. While the starter develops between feeding it needs to be in a container that allows gas to escape. Do not latch it closed. I use a mason jar with the lid just started but loose. If I were going to use the container you show, I would take the latch parts off and just set the lid on top unsecured.
Also, I'd add, with respect to the thread topic, that the smallest amount of starter I've found reasonable to maintain is around 40g. Each feeding wastes 20g, and requires 10g new water and 10g new flour. I find it easy to build the amount needed for baking by more than doubling the starter size and letting it ferment in warmer temperatures.
I've stopped the habit of feeding by doubling the starter amount. Instead I just eyeball the new flour, weigh it, and add the same amount of water. I make sure to at least double the starter, but it could be three or even four times the original amount. My bread turns out fine in any case.