February 26, 2011 - 8:41pm
Optimum time to use your starter ?
I'm curious to hear when people think is the optimum time to use their starter.
Is it when it's doubled and still bubbling ?
Is it just after it's doubled and just starting to collapse again ?
Is it just as good a few hours after it's been fed, has risen, collapsed and not been feed again ?
Or ?
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What manner of starter have you been propagating?
With any starter you would want to catch it right before it has reached its peak. Frequently this is also right before it crashes and collapses.
So, assuming you're talking about a liquid levain, there will be a point in the starter's life cycle where the bubbles that form will form on to of each other and the resulting depressions in the surface of the starter will be more pronounced.
The depth of the "hills and valleys" are what will tell you how ready your starter is in this case. Another key signal is aroma, "does your starter have it?" You could even ask yourself how proteolytic and broken down the starter is to see if its gone too far as well.
Chausiubao
I guess you're right. I should clarify that I am referring to a sourdough starter that's matured at least a couple of months. One that has been built from just flour and water.
Seems someone asked a similar question recently, and this post(below) was linked.
From member, and author, Dan DiMuzio:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14913/very-liquid-sourdough#comment-95326