Sourdough – inconsistent results
I live in San Francisco. I just learned how to make sourdough starter. It took about 3 days to go bubbly. The first loaf was ok. After feeding my starter every day for a few more days, it really took off. 2 hours after its feeding, it tripled in size and popped the top of my jar. The next loaf I made was excellent. It was fluffy and very tangy. It was every bit as good as the bread we have in our restaurants. I didn’t even add anything but flour and water: no salt, no sugar, no butter.
Then the starter became somewhat dormant. I’d barely get a millimeter or two of rise after feeding, even overnight. A week later, after daily feedings, it became vigorous again. I made another nice loaf, but not as nice as the previous one. Now my starter is back to dormant. I fed it 8 hours ago, put a rubber band on the jar to mark the level, and its only risen about 1 cm.
The temperature is consistent. I keep it in the kitchen where it is always 70-75 degrees F. Is it possible that the natural yeast in the air is also going through fast and slow cycles? Otherwise, I can’t figure out why it is inconsistent. And if so, how to the restaurants and bakeries deal with this?
Thanks!
Replies
Hello Tony,
New starters will often go through phases of activity as different strains of yeast and bacteria find conditions right to thrive and then become dormant again as conditions change. Eventually the system stabilises when the right balance of yeast and bacteria get themselves established in the correct proportions. This is why instructions for establishing a starter usually talk of anything up to 14 days for a reasonably stable, reliable system to be established. Sometimes this involves going through phases of not smelling so nice (sort of like acetone) and, as you have experienced, periods of high and low activity.
I would suggest carrying on with your regime of discard and feed and in not too much longer you will have a good relaible starter that will be just to your liking.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Don't worry about the measure of the rise or whether the starter doubles. I would concentrate on the texture. You want a bubbly, puffy starter when it is ripe. Once mature, you can slow down the process through refridgeration and reducing the hydration percentage of the starter. You can also keep only a small amount and build up when needed.
By two weeks, you should have a lively, reliable starter. And you can call it San Francisco sourdough!
I ran out of all-purpose flour. So I fed it whole wheat flour for 2 days and bread flour for 2 more days. It has once again turned into the Incredible Hulk, doubling in size in just a few hours. I haven't made bread from it yet, but it sure smell sour and tangy!
I made bread from the re-invigorated starter and it was awesome! Light, fluffy, tangy, sour! Lots of big bubbles. I still need to work on my crust, increasing the humidity to get the desired results.
I bought more all-purpose flour and fed the starter. Once again, very little rise. It seems my starter prefers bread flour. Anyone have similar experience?
Tomorrow I'll be feeding with bread flour.
Hello Tony,
Sounds like you are well on the way.
I've not used all purpose flour but from what I have read it 'might', and this is only hearsay, have something to do with the fact that the flour has been bleached.
I think that what is fairly well established is that wholemeal flour is particularly beneficial because of the presence of the bran and germ carrying more of the wild yeasts that you need to populate/maintain your culture. Rye flour (wholemeal) is seen to be even better due to the presence of an enzyme that accelerates the yeast activity.
While you can use all wholemeal flour as your feedstock, many people use it as a proportion at maybe 20% of the total flour used at each feeding. This provides the benefits but reduces the effect of the meal on the final dough particularly if a 'white' bread is required.
Preparation of the levain for the bread making can be done with 100% white (unbleached) flour.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Hi guys,
I've had a sourdough starter going for about 7 months, the first few months baking was superb! But the past 2 months I've had it the fridge and brought it out to make a couple of loaves (brought the starter out the day before). I did the same recipe as usual but even after 14 hours the loaf didn't rise, but when it went into the oven, the loaf raised quite a lot leaving the finished loaf to have quite large holes in it and the rest of it to be dense (if that makes sense?!) but the actual taste was lovely.
Just after some advice for what to do please? I've already emptyed about 3/4 of it and started putting 50g water/flour in twice a day, just not sure whether this is the right thing to do?
Many thanks for your help
Hello annie,
Generally you would add them in the last stages of dough development (kneading/stretch and folding) so that the oils etc from the rosemary and the rosemary bits don't interfere with the gluten development and so that the olives don't get mushed up too much. The latter particularly if you are kneading or using a mixer.
One problem with stretch and fold is getting a reasonable distribution and mixing if you leave it too late in the process so layering the additives over the stretch and folding them in as you go is probably the best bet.
If kneading/mixing, the last minute or so but long enough to get a good mix. You might need to experiment a bit with this.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
If you have a lackluster starter, I would split it into two portions and try two different strategies for reinvigorating it. I do that anyway when I want a rye or spelt starter. I take some from the mother and convert it slowly to the other type of flour. But play around with different flours, hydration percentages, and feed it more often. As a rule, I feed refrigerated starter twice a week and starter sitting on the kitchen counter twice a day (except when cold winter nights make the starter feel like it's in the fridge).
I admit my mother starter is consistently fed with King Arthur all purpose flour.
I feed my starter once a day every day with 50/50 organic white spelt and organic wholemeal rye and a little less water than flour to make a thick batter type and have it in the fridge. When Im going to bake I pull it out a few hrs early and feed it with some organic white - strong bread flour it foams up rapidly and I make my mix an hr or two later, works well enough