kenr

January 27, 2015 at 9:38am

In reply to by Bob Weight (not verified)

PJ - thank you SO much for turning the sourdough starter formula into recipe format - this JUST caught my eye and I see you did this just days ago! I was posting here in October when I was using your formula to begin my starter, and after early frustrations and impatience (normal stuff for sourdough beginners, I've surmised) I have been baking like a fiend and never looked back. My only gripe with the wording of the recipe (and the blog post) is that is seems to suggest a week is a typical time frame for starter to become active enough for bread - this can set up some confounding expectations for beginners. In my view, the truth is that conditions vary so widely that 7 days can be far too little. I've learned the key is to watch for a dramatic and consistent rise in the jar - at least doubling between 1 and 4 hours after feeding. This could be 7 days or less after you begin, or it could be three weeks (for me it was 12 to 14 days). I would encourage you to consider tweaking your wording a bit to guide bakers to watch for this phenomenon, rather than watch the calendar. Would love to hear your thoughts. The two other things I'd urge readers here are: - DO weigh your ingredients. Even if you don't do that for any other cooking, it really matters here. I'm thrilled that the recipe format has a button to convert to grams. that is AWESOME. - DO dry out and freeze some of your starter once it's nice and strong. Emergencies can happen and you will be grateful to have it. Cheers!
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