February 10, 2011 - 6:38am
how to figure levain % for dough hydration % question
Hello,
What's the math or method for figuring out how to add a levain with a differnt hydration than the dough will be? So if I have a 130% hydrated levain and I want to make a dough of 70%, 75%, 80% - whatever it is - how do I figure out how to compensate? I'm just ignorant enough to not even know how to phrase the question so I sure hope someone can decipher this. The 130% and the 70%, 75% and 80% are just examples. It could also be a 50% levain to an 80% dough.
Thanks
Kim
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Funny that you should ask just now - I was wondering the same thing the other day. I actually created a spreadsheet that does everything for you, just type in the two hydration levels and the goal weight. Note that this will really only work for small differences - if you need a large amount of starter, you should build it to the appropriate amount.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsVvd7cwApaVdGhCRnlvQ1RMb2xTemlLRnpuT1FXTXc&hl=en&authkey=CKbCi7MK
Hope this helps!