Barb at King Arthur

July 16, 2023 at 9:33am

In reply to by Marcia (not verified)

Hi Marcia, if you'd like to maintain your starter with White Whole Wheat flour you can certainly do so. I would stick with 113g each of starter, water and flour when following our sourdough starter recipe and maintenance routine. When it comes time to start baking, if you substitute white whole wheat for AP in a recipe, I would stick with the 113g weight per cup of the White Whole Wheat flour. You may find you need to drizzle in a bit more water when substituting whole wheat flour for AP, since wholegrain flours tend to absorb more liquid than white flours. In terms of maintaining a whole wheat starter, it's helpful to know that whole wheat flour ferments a bit faster than white flour, so be sure to keep a good eye on your starter when it's out at room temperature and feed it regularly. Once you have an active starter that is rising consistently, you'll want to feed your starter when it's at its peak rise, or just beginning to fall, which will help keep it healthy and vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings can lead to sluggishness. Of course, once you have an active starter you also have the option to refrigerate it when you're not planning to bake, which can make maintenance much easier. 

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