My 100% hydration SD starter lives in the fridge all the time. I keep 40g in a jar and usually feed it once a week at 1:2:2 when I am going to bake. 40g of the fed mix goes straight into jar and back into the fridge and I use the rest for my 400g total flour loaf.
Having been away from home for 2 weeks and also not having fed the starter for a week before leaving, I was a little concerned about the state I would find it in on my return. Sure enough, there was some hooch, but not as much as I had imagined, and it seemed OK if on the strong side odor wise.
Did my usual feed and used the surplus to bake what came out as a really great loaf (see pic), using 60% a semola rimacinata type of flour and 40% a Manitoba flour from Italy. Both the pre-ferment and the final dough rose very nicely and kept a great shape and the final loaf was great in terms of crust, crumb, taste, and not going stale for significantly longer than my past bakes.
My question is this: Did the starter benefit from a little stress from the lack of regular feed, or was it more likely the inclusion of the higher W number Manitoba flour? Also, the ambient temperature has been on the high side here in London (room temp in the kitchen around 24C, compared to about 20C), which might have accelerated the preferment, BF, and proving stages.
Whatever the cause, the resulting bread was very satisfying to bake and eat. Interested to see what others think.
It sounds to me that your dough ended up with more LAB products than usual - better taste, less staling - which would not be a surprise after a longer refrigerated stay. Presumably the low temp/low pH condition of the starter wasn't (yet) enough to seriously suppress the yeast. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a longer lag than usual before you saw signs of rising.
I've found I can use starter in a thin or even soupy condition. The time I kept track, it seemed that I could consider 2/3 of that starter to be essentially water, in terms of the apparent hydration.
BTW, I read recently that the W measure was developed specifically for soft European wheats, and that it's not very useful for hard North American wheats - which presumably your "Manitoba" wheat was even if grown in Italy.
TomP
Not sure about the lag, because I left the preferment overnight so didn't see its evolution, but it was ready to use way before the 12 hours I usually needed for it to reach peak.
As for Manitoba flour in Italy and W numbers, it seems to me that Manitoba has become the genetic name for any type of strong flour rather than referring to the actual origins of the four. Probably in the past when local flours were weaker, only imported four from North America had the necessary strength and now the name has stuck in even if the flour is local.
Regarding W numbers, there seems to be a move by all commercial flour producers found in supermarkets in Italy to have a W number on their products whereas in the past it was not common. Don't know if it's to do with regulations or driven by consumer demand with people doing more home baking and needing to have a clear idea about the length of fermentation each flour can take, but it's noticeable over the last couple of years that every packet of flour in the supermarket now has a W number prominently displayed on the packaging. Wish that was the case in the UK too. I find myself going through the undergrowth of flour producers' websites and flour specs to get an idea of how suitable they are for long fermentations.
Whilst the marketing is coy on the subject, at least for some of the millers if it is marketed as Manitoba it is often wheat imported into Italy from "North America" and milled in Italy. It is difficult to find evidence of this being otherwise, at least for the Italian millers. This is certainly true for Marriages in the UK too where the marketing about this is more explicit.
I for one am confused by the packaging on some flours though. For example Caputo Manitoba. Perhaps it is a case of this being sold on the American market; plus the bag has changed in the last year as well; but it still is (very much!) the case that there are no stars and stripes on Canada's flag! Right?
-Jon
I have read that some French flour uses North American hard wheat milled in France.
If it's good for you - do it. Don't forget the main thing - is it good to you. A suggestion - and it's only a suggestion - let the starter ferment more. Enjoy!
Yes, my takeaway from this enforced experiment is that maybe I can leave the starter longer between feeds.
Having said that, the second loaf today, a week after the first post 3 week enforced diet feed came out super well also.
Now ya know - go from there. Enjoy!
I have kept a starter for 15 years or so. The best it's ever been was when I went away for a 6 weeks in late Feb and returned in early March. Before I left I made my starter into a very very firm ball of dough. I've done this every time I go away for extended periods of time. When I got back I took the hard ball and poured water over it and left it alone till it absorbed it all and became gloopy. I never measure anything I go by feel both with my starter and will all dough formulas. Anyway I have been taking out a " glop" and feeding it to make a thick starter ever since I got back. It triples in a couple hours . Full full full of bubbles. I've never had a starter as active as this one is.
So change is good whatever it is ....that's my take away from this. Try really firming it up. It will never develop hooch and it will welcome the change. c
I've followed your post about that with interest. Would have given it a try but has to leave without time to make proper provisions for the starter, hence leaving it to it's own devices and hoping the the best while I was away.
I'll definitely try your firm ball the next time I'm away and can make proper provisions for the starter.
my experience cuts both ways.
when I started my 100% hydration rye starter, I fed it every day 1:1:1 as all the good books say -- and it was extremely unstable.
Finally, influenced by one of dabrownman's posts, I decided to refrigerate it and feed it less often -- and it got happier.
influenced by ilya flyamer, I started feeding it between 1:5:5 and 1:10:10 whenever the jar got low -- usually after 6 - 8 weeks. This made it really happy.
for almost 2 years that was it. My starter was extremely forgiving on timings and always seemed ready to spring into action.
Then, about a year and a half ago, everything changed. The starter got ornery and moved too fast. No proof was short enough. My loaves spread and flattened. After lots of trial & error (mostly error), I read something on wordloaf about a commercial baker who had to decrease inoculations after a change in her flour (my rye had changed to a slightly finer grind). So I cut my inoculations in half, from 10% to 5%. This helped. And I started feeding my starter after 3 - 4 weeks in the fridge, no matter if the jar was still full. This also helped.
This is where I am now. So I guess the lesson is: yes, a little stress is a good thing -- just don't count on it always being good in the same way.
Rob