March 18, 2024 - 10:07am
Preferment Did Not Float
Hi,
My sourdough starter did rise and passed the float test. But my preferment after 12 hrs in 85° did not float.
I used instructions from https://josey-baker.squarespace.com/home-baking.
I cut the recipe in half to only make one loaf.
I mixed 10g of starter w 45g of red whole wheat flour and 45g of water. In a metal bowl.
The preferment has some bubbling, but not much activity. Should I wait and give it more time?
Share
I don't really know, but I'd guess your starter is not ready yet. You'll want to see a few cycles of regular rising before it's useable.
The other possibility I can think of is that your preferment is actually peaking well before the 12 hours is up and that it's collapsed by that time. Try checking it after 4 hours and every hour or so after that.
Since you're using only rye and whole wheat, I don't know how accurate the float test will be. Getting a good elasticity with those grains is difficult. Your yeast might be active enough, but your dough might not be trapping its released gas. Since the bread recipe calls for white flour later anyway, you might try using that in your preferment the first few times, just so you have an easier time seeing what's going on with the yeast.