Perplexing problem with new wheat
I bought a few bags of hard red spring wheat from a local farmer. I used it to make my whole wheat levain (Hamelman's), which I've made dozens of times with Wheat Montana wheat. It took a bit longer in the mixer to develop, and I had to lower the hydration. I gave it a few folds on the bench, and every time I folded it, it seemed like it was developing good strength, but to look at it a few minutes later, it looked very flaccid and weak. When I shaped it, it felt like it had a fair amount of elasticity, but within a few minutes, it was a blob in the bannetons. Has anybody any idea what is going on with this dough? I need to add that the levain was fairly overripe when I went to use it. I'm not sure if that affected this dough at all.
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