UAP question
Hello everyone. I am relatively new to bread and starters--I just completed my first mini-baguettes the other day and they turned out to be fairly scrumptious. After pouring through the forums, I have found one question that I found pertinent to my current situation. I am currently nurturing a starter that is now just over 1 week old. I am feeding it about a 1:1:1 ration (really need to get a scale-i.e. find money for one) twice daily with Gold Medal UAP. It is currently doubling in volume at about 6 hours. is this about what I should be expecting? Is the protein content in this flour too low for the starter/should I try making it with bread flour? Eventually I'd like to get some Bob's Red Mill or KA, but I think I need to prove to my wife that I am serious about this before buying "special" flours. Thank you all for your help. I am excited to continue to delve into the wonders of freshly baked bread.
Hi French Foodie:
1) I prefer rye or whole wheat for my starter, even if making white bread. the amount of starter made from either is not going to impact your white bread other than give it a slightly unique and very positive undertone that will differentiate it nicely.
2) 100% rye ferments easier that WW or white. If you do not want to use ww or rye in your starter, by all means stay with white. 6 hours is about right and you will find as it matures you starter will taste even better as a few more weeks go by
3) re scale, I used to be a stickler on the starter weighing out 1:1 flour and water, but now do it by eye- the starter has perfomed just fine so do not make yourself whacky on weighing out a few tbs of water and a few or flour. However, I have found that a scale is very desirable/must have for making the bread and really allows consistency; hope you get to your goal of mastering the beginning steps so you can try more things as you become more proficient.
4) AP flour is indeed very workable for you recipies. I like to use the analogy of having three types of bread, which is akin to beginner, intermediate, and advances: 1) powdered orange drink compared to 2) frozen OJ, compared to 3) fresh squeezed orange juice. By grinding my own whole wheat (and rye adding too when it suits me), and using 80% WW/rye and 20% white AP flour, I get a truely incredible loaf that is as fresh as fresh can be. Nothing wrong with the others, but gravitated over time as I learned more about fresh ground as even King Arthur WW tastes bland/stale compared to fresh ground, with store bought WW lacking compared to KA. use a 66-68% hydration ratio and you will get a very light and fresh rockin' loaf. Good Luck!
Thank you for the tips.
1) I have been using about 15% WW flour in my feedings. Perhaps I will increase that a bit.
2) It is good to know that I can get away with eyeballing the starter for now. I'm hoping to invest in a scale by the end of the month, but who knows if that will happen for sure. I'm already noticing that weighing ingredients, especially the flour will make things easier/more consistent. In the meantime, I don't think I will be making much sourdough before the end of the month anyways (going to let it build its potency for another week or so and then maybe make some pancakes or something). Hopefully by the time I get the scale, it will have reached a lovely potency.
3) I figured that the levels of the flour were fairly substantial. I did a bit more research and it seems that Bob's red mill isn't too much more per lb than buying Gold Medal. It seems that the shipping costs are what kills people, and I am fortunate enough to live fairly close to the store in Milwaukie. Perhaps I shall just have to make a run over there the next time I get low on flour.