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There are as many ways to make sourdough as there are to smoke ribs or butts. This is just my way, for right now. It is always changing as I learn more from others.
Meet Carl
This is my 'firm' starter. If you want to read about Carl's origins google "carl griffith sourdough". Carl is hydrated to about 66% right now. He lives in the refridgerator until I want to bake, then I feed him and we make sourdough/wild yeast bread.
I measure my bread formulas/recipes in grams, but you can convert them to ounces. It is the ratio that is important.
Today I made bread with this 72% hydration formula
130 gr starter (Carl)
305gr H2O
1 1/2 tsp toasted seseame oil
1/4 cup toasted seseame seeds
400gr bread flour
50gr whole wheat flour
10gr salt
I started by weighing Carl last night.
He weighs 88 gr and I need 130gr. Carl has been in the fridge for a few days so I need to feed him so he has enough strength to raise my dough. From my understanding of sourdough you always want to feed at least twice the amount of starter with flour. The amount of water is unimportant to the starter, it only needs to hydrate the dough. Water only matters to the baker and recipe. The starter doesn't eat water.
So, unless I want extra starter (today I don't want too much) I have to get rid of some of the old starter and feed what is left.
This is what I fed, with the container I start with 30gr, not much huh?
I use a 1-2-3 feeding method. One parts starter, two parts H2O, three parts flour. I like to give my starter lots to eat! I have read, and believe that the more you feed it, meaning ratio of flour, not water, the more active the starter is and the more flavorful it is.
Here I have the 30gr of starter with 60gr of H2O
Now, 90gr of flour
I like to use a chopstick to mix it with. It minimizes the mess. I do all the mixing in the pint container. The chopstick cleans the sides and does a really efficient job.
This is Carl after a good nights work.
It's kind of like muffin mix
When I make my dough I mix everything in one bowl and just tare out the scales after each addition.
Here is 130gr of Carl with the seeds, oil, and H2O.
I saved the extra fed starter/Carl and put it in the fridge for the next bake/build.
add the flour.
The only tool I use to mix is a bowl scraper, I don't take the dough out of the bowl and I don't add any more flour and my hands don't touch the dough or get dirty. I do use my hands later, after the dough is developed. But my hands stay clean and so does the counter. The only thing that I have to wash is the bowl and my bowl scraper.
I fold the dough onto itself, in the bowl about 20 turns, until it is just hydrated and leave it for 20 minutes, then I fold it onto itself again two more time, about 20 times each time. Again, I do that two more times at 20 minute intervals. I added the salt after the second 'bowl fold'. I guess the salt interfers with the yeast development if you add it too early
I just do it out of habit at this point.
Here is fold 2 and 3
You can see the dough coming togeather and the gluten starting to form.
Here is is turned out onto the counter after 1 hour of folding the dough onto itself in the bowl.
Next I do a series of two or three "stretch and folds" instead of the traditional 'kneading', on the counter...don't know if anyone is still awake to want to see that...if so I can post. I won't assume so.
Thanks for looking at how I do my sourdough mixing.
Cheers.
Meet Carl
This is my 'firm' starter. If you want to read about Carl's origins google "carl griffith sourdough". Carl is hydrated to about 66% right now. He lives in the refridgerator until I want to bake, then I feed him and we make sourdough/wild yeast bread.
I measure my bread formulas/recipes in grams, but you can convert them to ounces. It is the ratio that is important.
Today I made bread with this 72% hydration formula
130 gr starter (Carl)
305gr H2O
1 1/2 tsp toasted seseame oil
1/4 cup toasted seseame seeds
400gr bread flour
50gr whole wheat flour
10gr salt
I started by weighing Carl last night.
He weighs 88 gr and I need 130gr. Carl has been in the fridge for a few days so I need to feed him so he has enough strength to raise my dough. From my understanding of sourdough you always want to feed at least twice the amount of starter with flour. The amount of water is unimportant to the starter, it only needs to hydrate the dough. Water only matters to the baker and recipe. The starter doesn't eat water.
So, unless I want extra starter (today I don't want too much) I have to get rid of some of the old starter and feed what is left.
This is what I fed, with the container I start with 30gr, not much huh?
I use a 1-2-3 feeding method. One parts starter, two parts H2O, three parts flour. I like to give my starter lots to eat! I have read, and believe that the more you feed it, meaning ratio of flour, not water, the more active the starter is and the more flavorful it is.
Here I have the 30gr of starter with 60gr of H2O
Now, 90gr of flour
I like to use a chopstick to mix it with. It minimizes the mess. I do all the mixing in the pint container. The chopstick cleans the sides and does a really efficient job.
This is Carl after a good nights work.
It's kind of like muffin mix
When I make my dough I mix everything in one bowl and just tare out the scales after each addition.
Here is 130gr of Carl with the seeds, oil, and H2O.
I saved the extra fed starter/Carl and put it in the fridge for the next bake/build.
add the flour.
The only tool I use to mix is a bowl scraper, I don't take the dough out of the bowl and I don't add any more flour and my hands don't touch the dough or get dirty. I do use my hands later, after the dough is developed. But my hands stay clean and so does the counter. The only thing that I have to wash is the bowl and my bowl scraper.
I fold the dough onto itself, in the bowl about 20 turns, until it is just hydrated and leave it for 20 minutes, then I fold it onto itself again two more time, about 20 times each time. Again, I do that two more times at 20 minute intervals. I added the salt after the second 'bowl fold'. I guess the salt interfers with the yeast development if you add it too early
I just do it out of habit at this point.Here is fold 2 and 3
You can see the dough coming togeather and the gluten starting to form.
Here is is turned out onto the counter after 1 hour of folding the dough onto itself in the bowl.
Next I do a series of two or three "stretch and folds" instead of the traditional 'kneading', on the counter...don't know if anyone is still awake to want to see that...if so I can post. I won't assume so.
Thanks for looking at how I do my sourdough mixing.
Cheers.
for the well defined post.
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