Build levain vs straight from the starter?
Hello,
I know there are a many different approaches out there on how to incorporate your starter into your final dough. I've read quite a bit but am hoping to find an answer to what the rationale is behind building up a levain before mixing your final dough. Is it done just to augment the volume of the starter available? Or does it significantly add more complexity and flavor or better rise to the loaf? I have been able to take my starter straight from the fridge when it appears to be at about peak (passes 'float test') and incorporated directly after autolyse with good results. I'm wondering what the advantages are, relatively scientifically, of a feed 8-9 hours or 4-6 hours (depending on book / formula) prior to incorporation in dough. Thank you all in advance! Happy baking.
Feeding your starter a few hours before using it gets it ready, awake and excited. Think of it as an appetizer for the yeasts before they go to the big buffet.
Using a preferment (biga, sponge, poolish) has the same purpose and effect as sourdough starter - flavor, gluten structure etc. But it's more predictable because you can control the exact amount of yeast.
Thanks for response - OP edited for clarity re levain vs preferment. Any insight on what that appetizer adds to its robustness in the bread - will it produce more rise?
Yeast and LAB are microorganisms that have to be very tough and adaptable, because they can't move home when conditions get tough - they have to change or die. Therefore yeasts in particular have a variety of trick up their sleeves, including going into various stages of 'standby' mode, up to full-on suspended animation.
So when you keep a starter in the fridge, chances are that most of the yeast is in a very low activity state and close to dormancy. At the very least, it will be using its 'survival' metabolic pathways - which are very different to the ones it uses when food is plentiful and it's worth it going into 'fast mode' in order to divide and 'bud' (reproduce).
The purpose(s) of building a levain then are:
Hope that helps
Thank you, Martin! That helps a lot. I was searching for just this kind of answer. So would you say that a starter right out of the fridge, even one that passes the float test (which I understand can be confounded by the amount of gas and hydration), should still always be fed to switch up the yeast's metabolism, so to speak?
Yes definitely. I take mine out of the fridge the day before I’m going to bake, feed it and leave it at room temp for about 8-12h; then I feed it overnight and use it first thing in the morning.
For the 100% whole wheat bread I make and the 100% whole wheat starter I keep, it works fine to use it for leavening straight out of the fridge. I usually feed it when I use it, wait until it's doubled (it takes about 2 to 3 hours at room temp to double) stir it down and fridge it again.
With that said, building a levain is more typical because it gives very predictable results. You know exactly how active your culture is before you put it in your bread dough. Whereas my method is baking blind: if something has affected the strength of the starter I won't know until my bread fails to rise.