sourdough starter questions
OK, I have been thoroughly enjoying this site and the wealth of information available. I am hoping that some of you more experienced bakers can help me sort things out. I have a starter I have been using now for around 9 months, things have been going well but I am in need of some guidance. One, the starter is not as sour as it used to be. This is not really a bad thing except I would probably like it somewhere in between where it was and where it is. I generally keep it at 100% hydration. Two, I tend to use my starter every couple of days, I have been keeping it in the fridge but I wonder if I should leave it out. It seems to be an active little guy, if I keep it out and feed it a bit each day can I just use it as is? What is a good feeding schedule in or out that would make the most sense? Planning when I am going to use it doesn't work great for me, I forget to take it out and refresh it etc? Any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Maggie
Hi Maggie. Your culture will be more responsive if you don't refrigerate it - especially since you use it often. The only time you want to refrigerate a starter is if you don't plan to use it for a week or longer. Saves on flour.
Why not just feed it every morning when you feed yourself breakfast? If you're not a morning person (like me), then dinner time is fine. Or lunch, or whatever suits you. Keeping it on the counter in full view is a good way not to forget about it.
Thanks Lindy, that sounds like a good routine for me. Should I discard and refresh every morning then? And how much refreshed starter should I keep in my crock?
Maggie, you should discard and refresh every day, but the time of day should be what's most convenient for you. I do it in the evening because I'm too scattered in the morning and alway am running late getting out of the house to the office.
I've been quite undisciplined with my nearly two-year old starter as to refreshment amounts. I don't do precise measurements, but rather eyeball it, discarding about 75 percent and keeping 25 percent in the jar. I'll then add maybe 1/3 cup of water, mix it well with the culture, then add around a half a cup of flour (more or less, till I get a semi-firm consistency.
I'll add more flour if I'm not going to use it for a week or two, and bring it to pretty stiff consistency before putting it in the fridge.
You could try changing over to a firm starter to see if you get that little bit extra sour you are looking for. Just discard some and begin refreshing with 60% hydration or so to make the change.
Do you retard the final dough? If not, try it. If you are doing it during the bulk/first ferment, try retarding the dough after it has been shaped to see if that makes a difference.
I seem to be getting on a better routine with my starter. I tried the 1 a day feeding and that did not work well for me, the starter was definately way past the point of needing a feeding. So I am now feeding 2 x a day. So far this is better. I am still trying to find the best hydration and total amount of starter to keep, or how much to feed without wasting a lot of flour.
I will say the bread that came out of the oven today was definately an improvement!! I had felt as though I was in a sort of stagnant phase as far as my baking skills were going. Not that the bread was bad , it just wasn't getting better. Today that has changed!!
Thanks