Building my STARTER: How BUBBLY should it be before going to next stage?
Folks, I apologize if this is a silly question but this is my first attempt at building a starter. Actually its the seeding stage according to Reinhart's "Artisan Breads every day book" Im following his step by step guide to building the SEED that then creates the STARTER.
My question is, Do you have to be EXACT with the desired results when moving from phase to phase as you develop your SEED?.....Because in Phase 2 and 3 it states to move on when the mixture is bubbly and foamy and doubles in size. Well, for me, the mixture did double in size, but it wasnt extremely bubbly, it had a few (4-5) small bubbles on the top so I moved on to phase 3 in which the instructions call for 2 ounces of flour to 1 ounce of water. If I didnt wait long enough, can I make up for it in the next phase?...How exact do these steps have to be?......is there plenty of wiggle room to self correct this without having to start all over again? (Its been about 5 days now and I dont want to start all over)
Oh and while I have your attention, a side question....What is the difference between creating a seed, to create a starter, to add to my dough vs just creating a yeast dough and letting it ferment for several days in the refrigerator??
I make pizza douqh using Reinharts cold ferment Neo Neopolitan Pizza dough recipe and let it build nice boozy flavor for a few days in fridge before actually making my pizzas. What differences should I expect by creating a starter and making pizza dough with it?...and also, if I am adding a starter to my pizza doughs, should I still be cold fermenting the dough for several days as well or is it self defeating the purpose of using a starter??
Sorry for so many questions but Im trying to understand this stuff....thanks
Rico