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Some have been asking me about starter. There are a ton of starter “recipes” all over the internet. Any one of them can work for you. Starter is part science, part art. But there are a few rules to live by. Most important one to me is not ratios of ingredients. It’s temperature.
Starter requires daily attention when it’s maturing and when you’re baking frequently. It’s like a pet goldfish. Keep the temp right, feed every 24 hours or so, and clean its habitat now and then. It’ll otherwise be fine.
If it’s active, room temp w few fluctuations. 73F here.
If it’s active, room temp w few fluctuations. 73F here.
Every starter is different, and bakes different. The most important thing with yours is to get it in a predictable rhythm so that when you go to make levain you kind of know how it’s going to react that day. And when you bake, it’s also relatively predictable.
I’ve seen some folks getting a bit confused on the difference between levain and starter. Levain is essentially a sliver of your starter, mixed with (usually) equal parts flour and water, and temp controlled to ferment over 6 hours or so, before adding to your ingredients to bake
What you’re trying to do with levain is get your starter revved up to be the yeast engine behind proofing your dough. It’s vital. Don’t just dump starter into your dough recipe. Take the time to make levain. If you’re struggling, it will change your results drastically.
I’ll update this thread in about 5 hours to show you an easy bread/dough recipe using this basic starter in the photos. His name is Larry. First, one part Larry is strength training with 3 parts flour and 3 parts water. Then it’s showtime.
Will be doing videos in the future to give some better insight as well.
