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Need help to convert recipe

Lindley's picture
Lindley

Need help to convert recipe

Hello!

Could anyone help me to convert this recipe from 100% hydration to 50%? I tried to calculate it, but I'm not sure.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
# 120 grams or 1/2 cup active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
# 340 grams or 2.25 cups bread flour
# 8 grams or 1 1/8 tsp salt
# 210 grams or 3/4 cup + 3 Tbs Water
# 150 grams or 1 cup dried tart cherries
# 125 grams or 1 scant cup big chunks of chocolate

My calculations:

Original recipe has

110g flour (from starter) + 340g flour = 450 flour total

110g water (from starter) + 210g water = 320g water total

If I use 50% starter

80g flour (from starter) + 340 flour = 420 flour total

40g water (From starter) + 210g water = 250g water total.

Thus, to reach the total of original recipe, I'll need to add (450-420=30g flour) and (320-250=70g water). Am I right?

jpchisari's picture
jpchisari

Hi Lindley,

    If i understand what you are trying to do these proportions below should work, without changing the original 100% flour.

 

Starter  170g

Flour   340g

Water   128g    

 

50% starter at 100% hydration =85g water

85g of flour from starter + 340g of total flour = 425 g

50% hydration x 425g flour = 213g - 85water from starter = 128.

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

jleung's picture
jleung

The overall hydration of JMonkey's Chocolate Cherry Sourdough is 67.5%, not 100%. The 100% only refers to the hydration of the starter. I'm assuming you want to use 120g of starter at 50% hydration (firm) instead of a starter at 100% hydration (liquid).

The original recipe uses 120g of 100% hydration starter, so there is 60g flour + 60g water, not 110g flour + 110g water - that would have given you a 100% starter but at a total of 220g. Anyway, the flour and water totals in the final dough are as follows:

amount of water = 60g (from starter) + 210g (in final dough) = 270g

amount of flour = 60g (from starter) + 340g (in final dough) = 400g

If you want to use 120g of 50% hydration starter, there is 80g flour + 40g water. To maintain the final overall hydration of 67.5%,

amount of water you'll need = 270g - 40g = 230g

amount of flour you'll need = 400g - 80g = 320g

Does that make sense?

* * *

You could also just take a small portion of your firm starter and convert it to a liquid starter for this recipe. Say, if you take 30g of ripe, firm (50%) hydration starter:

30g firm (50%) hydration starter = 20g flour + 10g water

and you want a total of 120g liquid (100%) hydration starter = 60g flour + 60g water

Simply add 60g - 20g = 40g flour and 60g - 10g = 50g water and you'll have 120g of a just-fed, liquid 100% hydration starter.

Hope that helps.

I'm making the chocolate cherry sourdough today - it`s fermenting right now.

- Jackie