how do I scale my starter to make many loaves at once?
Hi everyone,
I have tried looking for the answer in previous posts about building a levain to make multiple sourdough loaves, but I'm still left confused about how much to discard, if to discard at all. How do you start to increase your sourdough starter volume in phases? I keep a small amount (12-15 grams) on my counter and feed it twice a day (1:5:5) because I bake a few times a week but only one or two loaves for my family and friends. Recently, I was asked to bake about 20-30 loaves for a community event. Can someone explain how I can get from a small starter amount to the amount needed to bake this volume? And please let me know how much to discard with each build. I have read that going from a small amount to a huge amount at once is not recommended as the starter gets to be too acidic. Thank you for reading and I appreciate any advice.
Ally
If you have the time - no problem. There is a big problem if you don't. Basically - you need x times the starter. If it's ready is the answer. I would work on the starter - or add yeast so it's ready when needed. Enjoy!
Thanks Davey!
Hi Ally,
Unless you have access to commercial equipment, you will have to approach this many loaves in batches, and the answers to your questions lies in how many loaves you can realistically and reasonably mix, ferment and/or hold in the refrigerator if needed, and bake at once. When you know how much starter you need for each batch and how long between batches, you can devise a plan by working backwards from those times and amounts. Don't focus on how much to discard (you may not need to discard any). The important amount is how much you need to keep and feed. At 1:5:5, you can build to large amounts rapidly in a few feeds, so that will be the least of your challenges.
Happy Thanksgiving :)
dw
Thank you Debra--this is helpful. I ended up doing a 1:5:5 build, using 15 g starter, which gave me about 165 g. Then I took the whole 165 g (I didn't discard), and did a 1:6:6 build, which gave me 2145 g. I took 15 g of it to keep and feed in my starter jar, and used the rest as the levain to make about 20 loaves of bread. They turned out great (not acidic at all). I appreciate your advice--thank you!
Those look beautiful, Ally!