Making leaven vs "pure" starter
On a whim a month or so ago I decided to make a sourdough starter and try to make sourdough bread. 6 loaves later (my avatar) I feel like I'm getting somewhere.
I've been sticking to the one recipe (https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-sourdough-bread-224367 [1]) and altering things like whether to prove in the fridge or not.
Thing is, this recipe, and so many other places it seems, calls for me to take 1 tblsp of my starter and make a leaven from it overnight. But I have so much starter (one in the fridge, one on the counter) that I've just been using the pure starter to make my bread.
So, I am not making leaven. I am calculating how much leaven the recipe says I would need (I often half the recipe) and just use that much starter.
Is this ok? Should I be using leaven instead/is using straight starter restricting my bread's potential?
woah, the starter I got from the fridge and fed last night and this morning is almost overflowing it's jar! I'd better make something