May 11, 2011 - 9:19pm
PR, Artisan Breads every day - hydration
On page 37, 4th paragraph, PR says that a current starter can be used in making his Mother Starter (page 42).
I started with 100% hyrdration of a KA starter. My new mother has doubled according to paragraph three on page 42, I was to knead the risen starter for a few seconds and then form it into a ball. My dough is entirely too slack to form a ball.
Any input as to why?
Diana
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If you used 340g white flour and 227g water as instructed, you would have 66.7% hydration without your 100% starter (this might be a little sticky, but it should come together). Add 113g of 100% hydration starter means 57g flour & water each, so total hyrdation is 71%, which is pretty wet and sticky, might not form a ball.
If you used 340g whole wheat or rye flour and 255g water as instructed, you would have 75% hydration without your 100% starter (which is going to be pretty slack as it is). Add your 100% starter and you are at about 79% hydration, which is very slack, and would not likely form a ball.
Thanks for the quick response.
I used 340g whole wheat flour and 255 g. water.
My goal is to make PR's Pain au Levain and I'm wondering how my now slack mother will play out when I make the starter on page 61.
Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
If I were you, I would calculate the hydration % of the starter on p61.
Now that you know what the hydration of your new mother is (see my last post), use that along with the p61 hydration % to adjust the hydration of the final dough to accommodate your slightly higher hydration.
Use this calculator: http://joshuacronemeyer.github.com/Flour-and-Water/
Plug in your total flour and water numbers, and then tweak them to get the right hydration %.
In PR's Artisan Breads Every Day, he said that his mother starter can be kept in the frig for 5 days. That sounds wonderful compared to babysitting my starter everyday. PR's method sounds too good to be true, but I recognize that he is an expert in his field. What am I missing?
Peter has the time and energy to try different approaches to sourdough, making it easier for the home baker. He's on the edge. I've used his sourdough technique for a while now, follow his lead and you'll be okay. As with any recipe small adjustments may be needed to compensate for your environment and ingredients/materials.
Jim
What is it about PR's formulas in Artisan Bread Every Day that enables the dough to hold over for 4 days?
His formulas work because of lower-than-typical yeast and cold retardation.