Just Got a Starter, Now What Do I Do?!
A friendly fellow Angeleno gave me 36g of her starter so I didn't have to start one from scratch (wanted to avoid the waste that is part of starting one from scratch). Per instructions I've found throughout the Interwebs, today I fed the starter 18g of white and 18g of whole wheat, plus 36g of water.
100% starter, 100% 50-50 flour blend, 100% water
Now I'm unsure how to proceed.
I'd like to make this Tartine loaf: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016277-tartines-country-bread
It looks like I only need 1 Tbsp of the starter to create the levain.
Given this, should I just measure out 1 Tbsp of the starter from what I currently have (108g total) and continue feeding 108g minus 1 Tbsp of starter? Or do I need to throw away everything beyond the 1 Tbsp of starter per the recipe's instructions?
I imagine I can just halve the levain part so I create just enough levain for the yield without having to create leftover to continue my starter?
Just unsure about how this all works. Totally walking into the dark in this world of starters!
I still remember the day I got my first starter given to me. But along with it I also got Theresa Greenaway's Discovering sourdough book, which has been my go to resource. I strongly suggest getting it.
I do wish though that someone had told me to keep my starter refrigerated, otherwise a lot of time and energy not to mention flour is wasted constantly refreshing it which is what you have to do if its stored at room temperature.
I just gave a workshop on sourdough for newbies to it and the accompanying blog is here, if that may be useful to you. http://homecookexplorer.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/a-simple-and-delicious-sourdough/ While it won't give the tartine bread you seek, it may help to understand the big picture better.
Let if ferment before using it. Let it rise, reach peak before removing part for a recipe. Take careful notes on the aroma, texture, consistency, taste of the starter as it goes from just fed to gassy. Enjoy your starter.
Mini
the elaborating first step if you have enough ripe starter that fits the description of that first step. Will save you some time too. If not, start from the beginning of the recipe. Always save some of the "mother" starter to feed and maintain whether in the fridge or not. A mature starter will not survive as long in the fridge as a half matured one. They stay alive in the cold but ferment slower. Think of the starter as an entity by itself and you are using part of it. An ingredient that multiplies itself and has an expiration date if not fed. Don't use all of it into a bread recipe. You can maintain as little as 50g or as much as a gallon depending on your location and needs. You can easily increase the volume by feeding it without discarding and waiting for it to ferment.
My advise for the Tartine Bread would be to look it up here where it has been discussed a lot, especially the problems some folks are having with it. Then proceed.
I can't bring myself to taste my starter. I used to smell it, but these days I simply feed it and bake with it. Or bake with it and then feed it. I am sure that if I was more familiar with how it tasted when it worked well,I could learn more or better diagnose a sick starter if I had one, but that is not enough to entice me to taste it.
no need to swallow, you may be burping "until the cows come home." or all day at the least. Taste for sourness. an easy way to start out is just mix up a spoonful of flour and water and taste it. Should taste bland like wet flour.
And so often a just fed starter will taste bland and like wet flour. If not, chances are good the starter wasn't fed enough flour. As it ferments, byproducts build and the the acidity in the starter builds, you can taste this happening. You wouldn't have to wait until it smells off to know it needs more time or less to ferment. If it smells sour but yet doesn't taste sour, something is off and it needs to ferment longer. The correction can be made sooner and chances for full recovery better.
The recipe calls for creating a starter. You don't need to do this. Just feed and go onto making the bread...
RECIPE : 200 grams leaven
So you have 36 grams starter from your friend. When you feed this starter it will bubble and become alive. Within 8 - 12 hours (depending on room temp, strength of starter etc) it will rise, peak and fall. Once it has risen to it's peak and just begins to fall this is the best time to use it in the recipe.
There are many ways to build your starter. You can feed your starter and take from there. Some like to take off from the starter and build the amount they need and then feed the original for next time. Some like to keep a feeding schedule of 1:1:1 and others like to build with higher ratios. All correct and you need to find a way which you are happy with. Doesn't matter how little you bake just remember it should be fed at least once a week.
You want 200g for your recipe and you have 36g at the moment...
Option 1: Feed your starter 100g flour + 100g water then take off the 200g for your recipe (I see it calls for an equal whole and white flour so you can do 50g wholemeal + 50g white). some people don't like this method because what happens if you drop your starter or contaminate it then you lose it.
Option 2: Take some starter off and build it into the 200g you wish to use. So if you keep 99g of starter at any one time then take off 66g and feed that 66g flour + 66g water = 198g for your recipe (near enough).
Then simply feed the 33g you've got left with 33g flour + 33g water, keep out for a few hours then return to the fridge for next use.
Many many ways. Get advice and find one that works for you.
Let's say you wish to bake on Sunday morning. Take your starter out of the fridge Saturday afternoon. Sunday evening (just before bed) feed your starter or build your starter.
Sunday morning use in recipe.
http://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/our-version-of-tartine-style-bread/
water (room temperature)
Ingredients for the Tartine Style Bread
It asks for a poolish. This is simply taking some of your starter and creating a sponge. I know this might be confusing at first so here's how to make it simpler... (eventually it'll become second nature)
Take 10g off your starter (the night before)
In a bowl feed that 10g of starter 25g of white flour + 25g wholemeal + 45g water
Cover with clingfilm and leave out overnight for 8 - 12 hours.
With the remaining starter feed equal amounts of flour and water so you've built up enough to use for next time.
The next morning your poolish with have bubbled and turned into a sponge. Then carry on with the recipe.
It is very clearly explained at every step. Follow all the instructions as carefully as you can. Has pictures and videos too.
Either will survive just fine. You simply refresh the starter before using.
We've seen a lot of posts from people who haven't fed their starter for months or years, and then manage to coax it back into shape. This is probably because the yeasts go dormant once they finish eating the available food. But, I would be surprised if the yeast/bacteria balance is not thrown out of whack if the yeast go dormant. And I would not be surprised if the bacteria just die out without food.
So, all things being equal, if you refrigerate before the critters run out of food (half-matured), the food source should last longer and your culture should remain viable longer than if you refrigerated after most of the food has been eaten (fully matured).
That is not based on any science or research, other than the science that says yeast will go dormant and go on to live another day, when their environment is unfavorable for reproduction/budding.
Props to you for qualifying your unscientific belief as such.