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Super Active Sourdough Starter--Questions

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    Super Active Sourdough Starter--Questions

    My starter is a bit over a month old and it is VERY active--and nicely sour. It passes the float test easily just three hours after feeding and the boule I made yesterday per Chef Jacob's recipe/video way more than doubled over night--even though it was in the fridge. I did put it in for the initial ferment instead of the proofing stage, just because of timing issues. Anyway, my thought is that next time, I'll only use 250 grams of starter mixed with 250 grams total of equal parts water and flour, then follow the recipe immediately. Thoughts on that tactic?

    Second, ever since my first loaf, my dough has been much stickier than the first loaf AND much stickier than shown in the Stella video. I compensated on the current loaf by adding a few percent flour to the dough AFTER initial slap and fold (I do have good gluten structure). The one change I did make from the first loaf is to go without whole wheat (WW) flour for the boule (tho I'm still 50/50 WW and bread flour for the poolish). Does the change to all BF sound like a cause for stickier dough? I can cut the hydration back a bit to solve (hopefully) the problem as the dough really is too sticky to deal with. The other thought I had is that maybe my scale is off, so I will check that out. Comments?

    #2
    WW flour absorbs more water than apf, so you could easily reduce the % of water, or increase the percentage of apf, (or bf).

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      #3
      Variation happens. I would pony up for a good digital scale, will cut down on your variation. I have some loafs that are very sticky, some less so, using the same proportions. Not sure where the variation comes from, but, it happens. 2 approaches to sticky dough, wet hands or floured hands, either works, just what you are more comfortable with for you.
      At a month your starter should be rocking. Are you keeping it out all the time? Or chilling some in the fridge? I abuse "Bart", he lives in the fridge. Comes out a day or two before baking, dump and feed, comes back to life quickly. What I do is:
      200 grams starter, 300 grams water, 12 grams salt, 500 grams flour. Not sure where I got it from, probably sir Breadhead, but, it works. And as I have said before, if you guys are not adding fresh chopped garlic, you are missing the train. I experimented with whole wheat when I started the learning process on sour dough bread. It changes the dynamic, the more the percentage, the wackier it gets, not bad to eat, just not "right".
      I am surprised sir Breadhead has not chimed in with his experience on your issues. Enjoy, it is a fantastic skill to possess. Your friends will love you.

      Comment


      • Willy
        Willy commented
        Editing a comment
        My starter (Vinnie) lives in a cooler at about 60°F (I swap ice containers daily). He went in there after living at room temp (75°F) and losing sourness. Vinnie Jr. lives in the fridge. Vinnie comes from vinegar>acetic acid>sour!! Breadhead has helped and is likely just away.

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