Home | About | Contact
800.827.6836 | Norwich, Vermont

shopping cart

All discussions My Discussions
+ Add a Discussion
Lcoop badge: Community Member

sourdough flour feedings

I have a sourdough starter from King Arthur. I received this gift from my Boss in November 2011. I have been feeding and using it weekly.
The first bread I made did not call for yeast and was very dense. Sourdoughhome.com advises not to use yeast.
How long should I feed it before using..12 hours or 24?

Replies to This Discussion

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save" to activate your changes.
Lcoop
  • Reply by Lcoop on January 15, 2012 at 7:29 pm
  • badge: Community Member

I have also alternated using KAF all purpose flour and KAF bread flour for feeding my starter.

swirth
  • Reply by swirth on January 15, 2012 at 7:46 pm
  • badge: Community Member

This may be just the help you need:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/tips/sourdough-starter.html

GinaG
  • Reply by GinaG on January 15, 2012 at 8:06 pm
  • badge: Community Member

Hello, Lcoop!

Not to be evasive or give you the runaround, but the answer to your question is: It depends on your starter. You need to baby-sit and become acquainted with it to learn when your starter is at its pique.

When is that? Well, as you may have observed, your starter bubbles up and expands after feeding, then peters-out back to the level it was when last fed. If this hasn't been your observation, place a rubber-band around the container at the surface level of your starter immediately after feeding it. Check it and mark the level at different time intervals until it deflates back down to the first rubber-band mark. Make notes.

Your starter is at its pique and ideally should be used when its at its highest volume or somewhere near it, not when it has fallen to its lowest level.

Many people's starter is at its pique in 6 hours, some 12, some 24--I had a starter not so long ago that reached its pique too quick to talk about: 3 to 4 hours. Sourdough can't be held to a schedule until you know how it behaves.

No one will know more than you will about your own starter. Get acquainted with it; don't be afraid of experimenting, study and learn a lot, ask tons of questions and above all else, have fun and lots of it.
GinaG.

hickeyja
  • Reply by hickeyja on January 15, 2012 at 11:14 pm
  • badge: Community Member

To add to the advice that Gina has given you and to the information Swirth has provided, I would recommend that you read the info available at http://www.northwestsourdough.com/ Be sure to download her ebook on sourdough too. Jan

GinaG
  • Reply by GinaG on January 16, 2012 at 2:22 am
  • badge: Community Member

I vote for the same: You will be very pleased!

GinaG.

placebo
  • Reply by placebo on January 16, 2012 at 3:55 pm
  • badge: Community Member

As a rule of thumb, you want to add the starter to the dough when it's peaking, when the activity level of the yeast is high. You'll probably find your starter peaks somewhere between six to twelve hours after feeding.

If your bread is too dense, it's probably due to reasons other than your starter. Most likely, you're using too much flour or not enough water. Sourdough doughs tend to be stickier than regular dough, so you might be tempted to keep adding flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. You want to resist that temptation.

You should measure your ingredients by weighing them. If you're not familiar with how the dough should feel, use the amounts as specified in the recipes. I've found that will get you really close to where the dough should be in hydration. Keep in mind that it's better to err on the side of using too much water than too much flour. Too much flour results in a brick.