i was hoping to get some advice on sourdough. i have good starter that i feed about every 4 days by doubling the quantity w/ all purpose flour. it seems to have good action and gets quite bubbly. my recipe for the bread is to take 1 cup of starter and 3 cups of all purpose flour and salt, mix and let it rise. the first rise is slow- about 6 hours and the final proof is even slower with not much rising during baking either. the bread tastes great but doesnt have much volume. any suggestions?
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Where are you storing your starter between feedings? If you are leaving it on the counter you should be feeding more often. I would suggest once a day. Otherwise, you could be over fermenting your loaves. Just some thoughts.
ok, thanks. i guess i should start putting my starter in the fridge? i was under the impression that the starter was fine at room temp for 4-7 days until the yeast breaks down all the gluten and then it needed to be refreshed.
I have always popped my starter in the fridge between uses, even if it's only there for a day or two.
Maree :)
When my starter is on the counter at about 70F, I feed it twice a day. My starter is kept at 100% and I feed un-bleached AP flour. Many only feed once a day but mine does best when fed twice. I typically keep my starter in the refridgerator and feed it two or three cycles every 7 days.
I feed my starter everyday and get a good oven spring with a nice wet dough in a cast iron pot and lid. I bake about 3 times a week . The biggest thing I've learned so far is give it the time it needs for 3 sessions of rise time. Keep your dough wet so that it can get a nice texture but dry enough to keep it together and then to let it cool overnight. Now I do all the bread for my home and my daughter's...big fun
Help me out here, Pat. If you feed every day, but bake 3 times per week, don't you have lots of excess starter?
If so, what do you do with it?
Cheers, John
If you feed every day, you tip most of it out before you feed it.