i have a question about the water amount. i have baked with starters before, but not enough to really understand them. Why is it that the standing liquid amount changes the amount of water added to the recipe? My thought is that it would be about hydration level rather than how soupy it looks, and the hydration level in the starter would be the same regardless of if it has separated, since it had the same amount of water added to it at the beginning. Do you know what makes the difference there?
Yes - as the starter sits, the yeast consumes more flour, and produces more and more liquid alcohol as a result of fermentation. Thus the starter becomes more and more liquid, and that's the difference. PJH
October 16, 2009 at 12:52pm