So eventually I will be ordering Richard Chrz levain starter, but I like to do things myself until I have an understanding of what I'm doing. I'm on Day 5 of my levain per Ken Forkish method, however Monday my schedule was thrown off because I didn't get home to feed it til 4 (he says "anytime before noon."). Day 5 instructions are to discard and feed between 8 and 9, but not wanting to act prematurely I waited til 3. Is this going to throw me off? I'd like to start his first levain recipe, Pain De Campagne tomorrow, but don't want to start too early. What say you all?
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To be honest, I don't stick too closely to KF's exact timetable. I look at it a bit like I do the instructions I've received to cook precisely at 225F. It will work ... but it's just a guideline. Remember that Forkish runs a bakery with very specific deadlines ... and you don't ... so don't sweat the details.
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If you want to mix the dough first thing in the morning I'd just feed it again before you go to bed, as long as it's good & active it should be fine to raise a loaf by morning. If you want to mix dough in the afternoon feed it first thing in the morning. As long as it's active you'll be fine. I feel that Forkish overcomplicates making a starter, it ain't rocket surgery. As long as you catch it before it's completely eaten all it's food you'll be fine, even if it's on the downswing. Bulk might take a bit more time, but there's still plenty of oomph in there.Comment
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I am wondering whether I've bitten off more than I'm willing to chew here. Having a starter, from my ignorant vantage point, at the moment seems like having to care for a pet. Very labor intensive. Am I wrong?Comment
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Haha. This is why I remember my mom stopped making sourdough bread after a few months when I was a kid, and why I've not bothered yet in my last several years of baking, opting for dried yeast. I don't need another pet to feed and care for... It's hard enough making yeast starters when I brew beer a few times a year.
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Remember, "a little leavening ferments" the whole lump.Comment
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hoovarmin Like I said, it ain't rocket surgery. I keep my starter in the fridge and pull it out to feed it a day or two before I plan to mix dough. I'm actually going to feed mine tonight and again in the morning so I can get started on pizza dough for next weekend. It looks pretty gross, it's got a layer of hooch on it, and.. 1 or 2 feedings, it'll be fine even though I haven't fed it in almost three weeks.Comment
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Once a starter is reliably rising, you can feed it once a week or so, keep it in the fridge and be fine. I got mine going in about a week and now I bake with it weekly. I pull it down the day before I want to bake, in the morning and feed it. Then i discard down and feed it again in the evening. I then pull whatever I need from it for the bake the next morning (that's the levain for that bake) but I also set aside some to act as the ongoing starter. I feed that, leave it out for a bit then refrigerate it.Originally posted by hoovarmin View Post
I could likely skip the 2 feedings the day before but I like to give it some active time.
Remember, you don't need a large starter. You can take 10g, feed it some water and flour and keep that in the fridge. The trick is to figure out what you need for the baking you want to do and make sure that you feed your starter enough so that you get that amount, plus some left over for the continuing starter. Like this:
For a NEW starter, like yours, I'd make sure it's smelling like it should (not grassy or odd like it does early on but slightly sweet and tangy) and that it's reliably rising. If the smell is right and it's doubling or more every 12 hours, you're fine.Last edited by rickgregory; July 6, 2022, 07:45 PM.Comment
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I’m gonna make people slap me with the starter book here…
I’ve had a starter for years. I keep it in a nice crock, use to feed it often and make bread often. But….the gluten free thing changed how often i use it. Here’s where I may get in trouble. I believe my starter goes dormant. I check it occasionally to make sure its not off smelling or growing anything but when I do make bread, I’ll put it and let it come to room temp. Then pull a cup or two out and feed it that and make sour dough pancakes for the kids.
Then I get the starter going again with a few feeds and back into the fridge it goes. It has a wonderful aroma, gets a little grey in color, but it works.
so, perhaps that gives you some thought on moving forward with it over time. If my wife and I weren’t GF, I’d use it often as I did when I first got it.
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