Experiment - Any thoughts?
Been working on my sourdough for a while now, and I'm making some pretty darn good loaves. But a friend of mine recently brought me a loaf of Boudin's from San Fran and it seems my "San Francisco style" sourdough is no where near as sour as it should be. Everything else was pretty spot on as far as the look, consistency, flavor (except sour).
So here's what I was thinking about doing. I generally start with a cup of starter, two cups water, and four cups flour (all by volume of course). Leave this on the counter for a couple of hours, transfer to the fridge overnight, and then back out on counter for a couple of hours to warm up. Then I add enough flour for a 62% hydration and salt, knead, proof a couple of hours, shape two boules, another hour and a half rise, then in the 450 degree oven 25-30 minutes.
To increase the level of sour, I've left the 1 cup of starter on the counter for the past three days without feeding. It is ripe boy! I'm going to use this for the sponge. Good idea? Bad idea? I'm sure after three days all the gluten will be broken down, but I'm guessing the rest of the flour in the recipe will support. Not sure how this is going to work, but just curious if anyone else has done similar. Thanks!