Gotcha, thank you! My starter was 65% hydration so that contributed even less water.
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Ohhh waitā¦ so if Iām connecting the dots correctly, my sugar to water concentration was probably off and that might explain why my bread was a little sour. Do I have that right? Definitely making this again keeping everything the same except correcting starter/levain/sugar/water calculations. Thanks for the clarifications!
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So the sugar concentration would have been quite high, maybe high enough to suppress both the LAB and the yeast pretty significantly. As a result there might not have been more suppression of the LAB which is the desire when using a stiff sweet levain. As you know we aim to suppress the LAB more than the yeast but there would reach a time where the yeast start getting suppressed significantly as well.
So I would definitely try again and change your hydration and adjust the sugar.
Benny
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Gosh, I am learning so much from this one bread! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this. Iāll do a followup after my next bake.
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Iām good with credit to Benny 
Modifying the original recipe to get these results with whole grain flour is amazing, and he taught us all how to shape and position the lobes properly.
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Melissa you were definitely my inspiration and got me started on these types of breads and the use of the stiff sweet starter, so thank you!
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I couldnāt resist giving this a go. It was involved, but the explanation was perfect and I really enjoyed making it. Though my oven temp was acting funky, I adapted the best I could. This loaf looks so impressive to me that I havenāt sliced into it yet. Lol.
Canāt wait to make it again and thank you for this recipe
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You did a marvelous job at it! The crust is super shiny which I love. The lobes are beautifully risen, stunning. I hope you enjoy the flavour and decide that it was worth the extra effort.
Benny
@cduclos , Your bake looks amazing! Nice work. You will love the bread. It has such a marvelous texture that itās hard to believe its 100% whole grain.
āAG
Thank you.
Iām very excited. One if the funnest and best results. And really like the natural starter versus yeast.
Benny, I made this again today using my rye starter. Per your advice, I increased the hydration in the levain and was careful to follow your guidelines for the sugar to water concentration. The levain increased in volume by about 2.5 times, which was much better than my previous attempts at lower hydration levels. Although my levain didnāt triple like yours, the final proof today was only 3 hours. My proofer is old and might run a little warm, so that might explain that.
I have to tell you that everything worked perfectly and the bread came out great. Itās not a showstopper because I didnāt bother rolling separate lobes this time. Itās just for the family and they are not into the aesthetics too much. Unfortunately, I decided not to score the top and that turned out to be a mistake because it had a very good rise and burst on one side, making it a little lopsided. So no, itās not gorgeous, but it is still perfectly soft and mild tasting, as intended.
I seriously cannot thank you enough for developing this formula and sharing it with the world and ā on a personal level ā for all your extra effort in coaching me through this. Now I can simplify my life and get rid of all the āalternateā cultures in my fridge. Iāll definitely do some more work with the stiff sweet starter to see if I can reduce the sour notes in other formulas as well.
You and many others on this site have been very generous with your time and talent. I want you all to know how much it is appreciated.
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Thank you for your kind words AG they are much appreciated. Iām glad that this worked out so well for you, your loaf is gorgeous. Iām really happy that you like it and hopefully your family does too and donāt find it sour. You should find that using the stiff sweet starter reduces the acidity in other breads as well, it has for me in other styles of breads including hearth loafs.
Have fun and thanks for trying out my recipe.
Benny
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