Time and Temperature
I have a question I've not been able to answer to my satisfaction after searching online and favorite books.
Many of my bread bakings begin with someone elses formula wherein I convert or modify either ingredients and/or procedures.
The two changes I'm frequently unsure of are:
How much natural levain do I need to substitute for the commercial yeast called for?
How much should I reduce the called for levain (any type) when I adapt a straight dough, room temperature fermented to a chilled, retarded fermentation? And a variation of the question: converting a straight dough, room temperature fermented to a poolish or biga, and also chilled and retarded fermentation.
To date, I've had success doing all these changes, but formulae I bake routinely took a number of iterations to refine to a finale, and ones I've baked only once or twice have sometimes been less than what they might have been.
Can anyone point me at a book or online source for better guidance than trial and error, or share some rules-of-thumb with me?
Oops. I should also say I keep the original formula hydration the same.
Thanks,
David G