How much starter to keep?
I want to get a handle on my new starter. This was begun on April 1 2010 (1 month ago). My current starter is ~2 cups or so and I'm realizing I am throwing out a LOT of flour. I've seen some videos where folks pull out what look like 1 quart jars of starter (that seems like a Huge amount!).
On the opposite side of the quantity scale, I just read one page where the author described a 1:5:5 (Starter:water:flour) method she uses. That sounded reasonable, so I decided to follow her advice. Reading further, she said she discards all but 10grams of starter, then adds 50g each of water and flour. Since I just got my scale, and have never used metric weights, this sounded fine till I weighed out 10 g of starter.
10 grams looks like a very sad little puddle to start with so I didn't discard anything yet.
My two questions to you good folks, are...
1) How much starter should I keep on hand? I'm single and -most likely- will only be baking a 1-2 loaf recipe once or twice a week, if that.
2) What ratio is "best" 1:1:1, the 1:5:5 mentioned above or.....?
I don't know what is "best", but my current way of making things is to keep 50 gr of starter. I usually need 200 gr or so, so I either feed it 1:2:2 to get 250 gr of fresh starter or, if it has been sleeping in the fridge for more than a few days, discard all but 17 gr, feed it 1:1:1 to get 50 gr, and then 1:2:2 to get 250 gr.
This works well for me.
10 grams is one heaping teaspoon of rye starter at 100% hydration. It is such a good starter. After being fed, this can be allowed to sit out and after about 3 to 4 hours, can be refrigerated for later (this will keep a week easy, most often two weeks.) Then when I need starter, I take out 10g for every 100g of starter that I need and add 50g of Flour and 50g water. This sits overnight or about 8 to 12 hours depending on the room temperature. If I need 200g, I start out with 20g and slowly use up the starter sitting in the fridge. When I want more stock, I use some of the most recently refreshed and ready starter and do a 1:5:5 again or add even more flour and make it a tad bit thicker. Let it stand out 4 hours and tuck it back into the refrigerator. I have very little discard.
Maybe you should tell me how you are keeping your starter now, then we can reduce the numbers to avoid waste.
Congratulations on the scales! A move in the right direction! Metrics is quite easy when you get to using it.
Mini
Since this is a new starter, I have been keeping it out on the counter in a wide mouth jar (reusing an empty Salsa jar) with the lid laid on top with a slight angle so air can circulate*. My thought was leaving it at room temp would allow it to mature as quick as possible without the slowdown the fridge would cause. Maybe it is time to move on into the refrigerator?
If I'm following you, the 10g (per 100 needed) is just what you would pull from the "main" starter stored in the fridge on an "as needed" basis? Is that correct? If so what amount do you keep as the main stock (is "mother" the correct term") in your refrigerator? What is the average amount needed for a 1-2 loaf recipe?
Thanks for the congrats on the scale. I've had several breads "flop" and the good folks here convinced me a one time investment may help prevent future waste.
Sorry for alllll the questions.
*as summer rolls around I'm starting to worry about flies. I should have mentioned that in the original post. I haven't seen any yet, but I'd expect this to be a bug magnet.
I really can't add more than what has already been said by others answering this post.
I start with 100g and it slowly dwindles over two weeks. That is not a lot. Less than 1/2 a cup. It is in a salsa jar with the lid on but loose. I also like a little piece of stretch wrap and a rubber band. No flies...
Mini
You didn't mention your feeding ratios now. If you have a very liquid starter, you will need to thicken it first for a few days, then into the fridge when it is stronger.
I bake about a loaf a week. My storage starter is only about 45g. When feeding, I only keep a scant 10g.
Much has been written on your second question. I feed 1:1.5:1.9.
What I've read people do is to keep a small amount of "seed" starter. When you need to bake, you scoop out a small amount, re-feed the seed and stick it back in the fridge. From there, you feed what you've scooped out to get to the total amount of starter needed for the recipe. I have converted myself to that method and I love it. I have far less discard now and I am no longer wasting so much flour.
I keep three cultures going: two sourdoughs, and one rye sour ala Greenstein. One has been split and is fed with two different flours for a total of four. I feed each once every week to ten days. I keep fifty grams of culture (seed starter) and feed 1:1:1. I leave the fed culture at room temperature only long enough to see the yeast has become active, usually about an hour. Then I refrigerate it.
When I want to bake with one of them I remove a small amount--never more than 20g,which builds to 500g--and create a formula-ready levain using a three build protocol over a period of 24 hours. I know there are less fussy, and less time consuming ways to build a formula-ready levain, but this protocol has never failed me, and results in a vigorously active levain, starting with a comatose seed starter. Unless I purposely retard bulk fermentation or final proof, for any bread I've made bulk fermantation has never been more than 2-1/2 hours, and final proof averages 90 minutes.
The protocol: Each build I add enough flour and water to triple the beginning seed culture, or intermediate starter, weight, and adjust the added flour and water weights to reduce by 1/3rd the difference between the the culture's initial 100% hydration and the formula prescribed hydration.
An example: Formula prescribes 450g levain at 67% hydration.
I usually add some insurance to make up for loss from evaporation, fermentation, and especially the globs that stick to the walls and tools; say, in this case, 30g.
480g/(3x3x3) = 17.77 grams of seed starter needed. (Round up to 18g)
Build 1: 9g flour and 9g water from seed culture
19g flour and 16g water added
yields 54g intermediate starter at 89% hydration
Build 2: 28g flour and 25g water from Build 1
63g flour and 46g water added
yields 162g intermediate starter at 78% hydration
Build 3: 91g flour and 7g water from Build 2
200g flour and 124g water added
yields 486g formula ready-levain at 67% hydration
Note: the extra 6g comes from cumulative round off error.
Make next build as each earlier build peaks. For my starter that's approximately 8 hours, at room temperature (72°F to 76°F)
I told you it was fussy ;-). The first time I tried this I built a simple spread sheet to do all the math, since then, about a year ago, I just plug in the seed starter hydration, and the weight and hydration of the prescribed formula-ready levain. The spread sheet does all the calculations for me.
David G