November 30, 2012 - 4:23pm
Making a bunch of loafs
I apologize for the obvious rediculous of this question at the start. I have starter in a jar and I make 1 loaf of sourdough at a time. I use 1 cup of starter, 17 7/8 oz. of flour a little salt and a little olive oil. I want to make like 8 loafs at a time and my question is: Do I just multiply eveything by 8 or is there a subtle less need for starter or something? Again I apologize but I don't want to mess up a bunch of stuff and waste food because I didn't check.
Thank you, Scott
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Your question is not ridiculous.
Baker's precentages teach us that as long as the formula increased in linear fashion the end result can be relied upon to be essentially the same. So a 60% hydrdation dough using 100 grams of flour, 60 grams of water, 2 grams of salt and 1 gram of yeast can be doubled (200 grams flour, 120 grams water, 4 grams salt and 2 grams yeast) and so on to prepare as many loaves as you wish. As long as you remain true to the formula you should have no difficulty.
You may find it difficult to use amounts of ingredients like "a little" and a cup. Those variables are impossible to control accurately. For greater consistency, try weighing your ingredients when preparing your bread dough formulas.