Sourdough starter question
Hi Everyone, I have a question, hope someone knows the answer. Would there be any noticeable difference in the taste of a loaf if the loaf is made from a starter that has been made and refreshed with AP flour (KA) and one that has been made with Peter R.'s starter using high gluton flour for making and refreshing?
I have 2 starters and need to eliminate one, but don't have the heart to since they are both so good. The one with all purpose flour was one I'd had for a long time, but became really great when I finally found out how to care for it. Before, I was using just the recipe that it came with and that was not complete. After a few corrected refreshments it looks and acts like the other one. They are both now 1:1:1.
I don't want to use the AP one down if there may be any difference in the finished product.
Thanks so much for any advice, Jean P. (VA)
Hi Jean,
Why not bake two loaves of bread using the same recipe but each with a different starter, then do a blind taste test?
Using unbleached hi-gluten flour for a starter is expensive if it's fed every 12 hours.
Thanks you LindyD. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Yes the high gluton flour can be expensive since I was out and didn't need anything else from King Arthur at the time and only got the flour. $5 shipping, so $11 total! I'm going to check the grocer, one here carries Bobs Red Mill, a number of different kinds.
But I must say, since the starter has been finished for some time, I only refresh it every 10 days if I don't use it before. It always raises itself to triple the amount in 4-6 hrs so I figure it is ready. Also, it raises the bread fine.
Happy Holiday and happy baking! Jean P.
If you take Lindy D's advice and determine the better starter, you can always use that one to build(elaborate) any kind of starter you want from your choice. By simply using a seed from your starter, you build a whole wheat or rye starter in about three refreshments. It works.
Postal Grunt, good advice to me, thank you. I guess I will bite the dust and just use one of them up without replacing, after I do the test.
I appreciate your reply, regards, Jean P.