Doubling Recipe = double the starter?
Just wondering... when I'm doubling sourdough recipes, do I double the starter called for as well? It seems like an awful lot. What about higher multiples?
I'm using Maggie Glezer's "My Sourdough Challah" right now, and she provides two versions: one calling for 400g flour and one calling for 1770g, so about 4.4-4.5 times as much. She calls for 900g of starter, while my spreadsheet works it out at 1125g, so it looks like she IS reducing the starter as the recipe increases.
Is there a standard formula for working this out? Do different bakers have different preferences for scaline in their books? A Blessing of Bread is the only "artisan"-style baking book in the house right now; everything else I've used is back home at the library...
Any assistance appreciated, though it's too late for tonight's dough (I doubled the original 250g to use 500)!
Yes, using baker's percentage you would double the starter. I seem to recall her being pretty detailed about why she did things like that. I don't have the book any more, but her challahs are great and I still make them.
Edit: corrected below.
The problem is that you are doubling the 250g of starter she has you MAKE. But she only uses 200g in the recipe, the other 50 is to keep the starter going. So you should have used 400g starter in the recipe. Her 900g follows the baker's percentage if you use the 200g number instead of the 250 you used by mistake.
Edit to add: I know several people who have used the 250g by mistake (or intentionally) without problem. I do hope you saved some starter or have your starter separate from this recipe.
Maverick, you are so right!
Anyway, as it happened, after setting aside 20g to keep growing my starter (20:60:100), I had around 400g, which is double the 200g. My spreadsheet thought I'd need 500g, so compensated by asking for more flour and water, and it actually worked out PERFECTLY, which just goes to show how forgiving bread is.
Pics here: http://breadland.blogspot.com/2011/10/six-word-saturday-1-cheshvan-5772.html
Thanks for enlightening me!
Those look great. I highly recommend trying a six braid challah. It looks really nice and is not really difficult either.
When I encounter instructions in the recipe like that to reserve an amount, (or divide an amount, wait to add an amount, etc.) I circle or underline the directions about that, and make a note right where I can't miss it. It prevents me from adding salt or whatever too early.
That is good advice. For me it is usually forgetting to put the salt in before the next step haha.