I have a very unscientific observation to share. I keep my discard in a separate jar from my starter. Lately I've been adding my discard hooch, maybe 1 gram, and 3 grams discard to the water when I activate my starter. I find that this enhances the sourness in a pleasant way. Maybe because the discard and hooch have a good amount of lacto bacteria? My starter is super robust, it's a mix of 75% KA high gluten bread flour and 25% KA rye flour. It always activates in less than 4 hours. Adding the discard hooch and a few grams of discard doesn't seem have any negative effect, and the bake is pleasantly more sour.
August 25, 2024 at 2:35pm
I have a very unscientific observation to share. I keep my discard in a separate jar from my starter. Lately I've been adding my discard hooch, maybe 1 gram, and 3 grams discard to the water when I activate my starter. I find that this enhances the sourness in a pleasant way. Maybe because the discard and hooch have a good amount of lacto bacteria? My starter is super robust, it's a mix of 75% KA high gluten bread flour and 25% KA rye flour. It always activates in less than 4 hours. Adding the discard hooch and a few grams of discard doesn't seem have any negative effect, and the bake is pleasantly more sour.