March 2, 2014 - 9:25am
hydration question
My recipe asks for 9oz (255g) starter with 166% hydration. But how do I determine how many grams of starter, how many grams of water, how many grams of flour?
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My recipe asks for 9oz (255g) starter with 166% hydration. But how do I determine how many grams of starter, how many grams of water, how many grams of flour?
Hydration percentage (baker's percentage) is based on the flour content, only.
Starter 255g = flour + water
Hydration = (water x 100)/flour = 166
water = 1.66 x flour
255 = flour + 1.66 flour
flour = 255/2.66 = 95.9 g
water = 95.9 x 1.66 = 159.2
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I suggest you take 85 g of refreshed starter and add 159 g of chlorine free water plus 96 g of unbleached, all-purpose flour and mix this well. Let it ferment for a couple of hours then start your bread making, removing 85 g of starter to replace that which you used. (The 166% hydration comes from using equal volumes of flour and water.)
Ford
I want to start this recipe with the starter already ready to go at 9am so I can be done with the recipe by 9pm. So I don't really have those 2 hours fermentation time to add that you suggest. Could I just do what you suggested the night before, meaning adding the 159g of water and 96g of flour to my 85g (currently 1:1:1) starter, and then use 255g of that, after it has spent ca 12 hours feeding, in the morning?
"Could I just do what you suggested the night before, meaning adding the 159g of water and 96g of flour to my 85g (currently 1:1:1) starter, and then use 255g of that, after it has spent ca 12 hours feeding, in the morning?"
Yes. BUT. You say your current starter is currently 1:1; Is that by weight? If so, then use 64 g of refreshed 100 % starter plus 21 g water to make this 85 g of 166% hydration starter. That will keep your hydration the same. However, in my opinion, you could just continue with the regime I originally suggested. I think the difference in total hydration would be negligible.
Ford