Starter feeding ratio question
I have been using a starter that was made from a cookbook and works great and is very active. I am interested in using and adapting it for other sourdough recipes. The recommended feeding regimen is 150 g starter fed with 250 g water and 250 g flour. The book states it’s ok to change the amount you feed it but to feed it equal amounts of flour / water at a ratio of 1.67 times the amount of starter you are keeping. From what I have read on this and other sites I think that makes my feeding ratio 1:1.67:1.67.
I have two general questions. First I am thinking that since I am feeding equal parts flour and water my starter is at 100% hydration. Is that so even though I am feeding a higher amount of flour and water than the amount of starter I am keeping? Second question is if I start feeding it at a 1:1:1 ratio will that change much if it is very active?
I guess my main question is what is the purpose of feeding at higher ratios to the amount of starter you are keeping and what impact does that have on recipes and bakers percentages.
Thanks!
Alright, I'll try to answer this the best I can.. (others here may know much more!)
Let me draw a distinction that may clarify things for you:
The hydration % of the starter is (just like baker's math for the dough) is the weight of water/weight of flour(s). You're correct in your thinking that you've been maintaining a 100% starter (often called a liquid levain).
The inoculation of your starter (when you propagate it) is a separate thing from that hydration %. You can feed your starter at any ratio that works for you – and of course every one of those decisions can/will affect the flavor of your starter.
You've probably heard people say that "time and temperature are ingredients" – this is true! The temperature and time that you ferment your starter in will affect the flavor.
Bakers manage the flavors they're looking for in the finished product by controlling for all these variables.
Here's some more information around these ideas.
why do you have to ferment longer if your starter is lower hydration? the other 3 points make sense to me.
Fermentation rate is correlated with hydration %. The wetter the dough, the faster fermentation occurs (up to a point). The stiffed the dough, the slower fermentation occurs.
So by feeding at a ratio of 1:2:2 vs 1:1:1 would produce the same hydration but the higher ratio would take longer to ferment (which since we are talking about starter I would assume means ripen)?
Thanks for the help!
That’s right!
Thanks so much I had a really hard time finding that via internet searches