August 24, 2009 - 11:54pm
sourdough starter question
I made a culture, and it seems strong. It's about 10 days old and I want to make it into a liquid levain starter so I can start using it in my breads. What % hydration is the liquid levain usually. I was watching a video and it seemed really loose, like over 100% hydration loose. I need to know so I can accuratly calculate the hydration of the dough I will be using it in.
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Hi,
Most recipes I see calling for liquid (as opposed to stiff) levains have a hydration between 100% and 125%.
Larry
Using 100% makes baker's percentage calculations SO much easier! I do my first expansion at 100% also (usually a 4x expansion, i.e. adding 200 grams of flour and 200 of water (400 total) to 100 grams of levain). That gives me 250 grams each of flour and water and I simply subtract 250 from the final flour and water to get the amounts to add for the second addition!
Clean, easy, and it works!
Jay
thanks everyone! :) I think im going to go with 100%
100% hydration is a good starting point, as it is very liquidy, and does help with math. However, once you begin to get comfortable with it, you can bump up the hydration level to achieve different results. I am currently at 125% hydration, which I find great, but it does lead to having to be much more cautious with feeding on time. I have heard of people taking their starters up to 175% as well.
As you get higher hydrations, the yeast are much more effective at eating their food, and so you can get much more rise out of your breads. However, the bacteria that thrive in lower hydrations account for much of the sourness, so you will have trade offs.
Hope this helps.
Danny - Sour Flour
http://www.sourflour.org