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jdisney2 badge: Community Member

Sourdough starter vs. levain vs. pre-ferment

I have an active sourdough starter. Can I substitute it for the pre-ferment/levain that is called for in some bread recipes? If so, how do I figure out how much starter to use as an equivalent to the pre-ferment/levain?

Tags: levain, pre-ferment, sour dough starter

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stevenc12
  • Reply by stevenc12 on January 21, 2012 at 10:46 pm
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Having not tried this either, of course I'm fully qualified to comment on your question. I've noticed that making the Levain just seems like making a big batch of starter. I've also seen recipes where the Levain is referred to as "green". I judge that it means that it's very fresh and made from a small amount of starter that's given enough time to make the Levain very active.

Just speculating, but I think that if you just use a large batch of starter (because it's older) as your Levain, that it might not have the durability to keep the bread dough rise continuously through the entire process.