The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Using rye and soft white wheat berries

longlivegoku's picture
longlivegoku

Using rye and soft white wheat berries

So, I'm pretty new to the sourdough world, and very excited to set foot in the realm. I tried my own starter, per BBA, and didn't get results. I decided to take advice from several people and buy one. I received my starter 'flakes' in the mail on Monday and have been feeding my babies ever since. I decided at the same time that I would try to start my own starter again, per Sourdolady this time, and I'm seeing some activity, so that is hopeful. Anyway, I tend to give too much background.
I bought several pounds of organic rye and wheat berries recently. That resulted in me getting a grain mill soon after, of course. Well that arrived last night, and needless to say, I have some milled rye flour and wheat flour. What I'm wondering, after all my rambling, is do I need to add more water when feeding my sourdough starters? I currently have an all rye starter, that I fed last night and this morning with the freshly milled rye flour. It just seems to be kinda soupy, and then after sitting is more like a thick, thick paste. The same seems to hold true when feeding with the wheat berry flour. It's soupy then pretty dry by the time I'm ready to feed again. I'm just more used to the elastic look when I go to feed. I'd like to try making some sourdough this weekend, for the first time, and would love to use my own milled flour. Should I adjust hydration on the bread recipe as well to allow for the freshly ground flour?

Thanks for reading and any thoughts.

Ed