Good morning everyone,
I have a couple of questions about my sourdough starters ( I have a whole wheat and a white flour one in the fridge usually ). The day before I am going to bake I feed both if I am making 2 breads, and that has been fine in terms of bread making, etc.
I am wondering if there is way to keep the starter not in the fridge and at a temp that would be okay for it not to “use itself out” but that might make it generally more " active". Many ofthe recipes I am using show the starter to be “bubbly” and mine is not quite like that although it is active. Also, I live in the Boston area ( cold in the winter of course ) and we are trying to keep the house temp low ( cost of oil is very very high ) so my bulk time and proof time are different than what is usually indicated in the recipes. This can be a real issue when the recipe calls for a rise near 8 hours, which in my house would have to be longer and schedule wise that does not always work. I have tried a couple of recipes where instead of leaving the dough out for the bulk, putting it in the fridge overnight but I am still not happy that the bulking is as effective as it could be.
I am also wondering if anyone has a recomendation for a an electric dough riser that I could also use for for my sour but that is not "overly expensive "?
My house is never above 68F during the day in the winter and at night, the thermostat is set to the mid 50s. I can relate and you might get a laugh out of this like I did.
As for starter vigor, maybe look over this FAQ if you haven’t already and make sure you’re giving your starter a healthy feeding ratio.
I tend to keep very little starter in my jar so that I can feed it both ahead of a bake and after I’ve used it to mix dough – and still never have to discard, but also always be feeding it at least 1:1:1 (explained in that FAQ).
If I’m baking twice a week, that means I’m feeding and ripening the starter about four per week. So, the refrigeration in between doesn’t slow it down much. If I were to bake every two weeks though, a few more feeds might be needed in the interim to keep the starter from being sluggish. Also I’d be more focused on using the starter right when it peaks vs. straight out of the refrigerator.
Using warm water in the dough and to feed the starter, along with a heating pad like the Raisenne can make up for a cold house as well.
Quick question…how do I adjust the 10 hour and 8 hour bulk time without a bread warmer , in a 68 degree house in the Breadtopia rustic sourdough bread?
Thanks for all the info…will be responding more in detail in a bit
Questions : How much electricity does the Risen Dough Riser draw ? Would I need to have it on for the whole bulk time ( 10 hour in one recipe for example ) ? Living in Boston not only is oil expensive but so is electricity; and this year our rates went up well over 50%…ugh.
I tend to fed in a 1:1:1 ratio 995 of the time; am using tap water ; so is that okay as opposed to the filtered pure recommended in the article you sent me ? Does it make a big difference ?
I tend to bake about every 8-9 days so how often should I feed in between my bakes?
I have as I said a whole wheat and white flour sour going but I think that the white flour one gives a better result even though I have no complaints about my whole wheat one which I tend tom use in baking whole grain breads. Should I keep the 2 ? Does it really matter using a white flour sour in any of the whole wheat sourdough recipes? Will the results be the same or does it all depend on how active my sour is?
I loved the article about when to turn your heat on in New England; felt like I was having the conversation with my spouse who wants it cooled than I do…lol.
Thanks again…talk to you soon. I truly appreciate all your help on this and other bread related matters.
I think most of @eric 's recipes that have an overnight rise (8-10 hours) we’re done in cooler kitchen temps. I don’t think you need to make adjustments.
The Raisenne heats the dough to 85F so an 8-hour rise will probably be 4-5 hours. Less electricity than you might think but I don’t know exactly how much. You should put a towel underneath it though, so you don’t lose heat to a cold stone countertop, for example.
I only maintain one sourdough starter but that’s just my “minimalist” preference. It gets fed all sorts of flours, depending on what I’m baking. All purpose is probably the most common food for it though.
When I want to make a recipe that is 100% some particular flour, I’ll feed it that flour a few times – not because it’s better or worse to do so, but because I’m developing recipes for Breadtopia and want to be accurate about what the ingredients are.
It is possible that tap water is lowering the microbial population in your starter. That depends on how heavily chlorinated it is.
With your cooler kitchen, I think you can just use warmer water in the mix and go with the same time frame, or add a couple of hours. Even with the exact kitchen temperature as the recipe describes everyone’s starter and dough will behave differently and need the ol’ “watch the dough and not the clock” advice.
I will try to use warmer water in the first bulk mix, plus 2-3 extra hours in my cold home, and keep my eye on the rise and hope that works.
I have also just refreshed my starters with spring water and will do a couple of feeds with that water before I try and bake again; will from now use that kind off water and see if it makes a difference. I really have no clue how chlorinated my town water is so using that kind of water will eliminate that issue if there was one.
And I am going to order a Raisenne dough warmer which will resolve the temperature issue in my house, especially during the winters.
I will keep you posted ( if I may ) with what results I get with my “new” way of preparation.
Thanks agin…talk to you soon.
I use a dryer starter than most folks here. It can go several days between feedings, leaving it on the counter. It doesn’t need to go in the fridge. Apparently, people were able to make bread before the refrigerator was invented.
I think I have about $50 into this … Poor Otis’s inexpensive proofing box:
1 - Cardboard provides great insulation. A banker’s box works well but any other box with a lid will do. And a cardboard box inside of another cardboard box is an uptown proofing box.
2 – Inkbird ITC-308 temp controller with probe. I think they are about $30-35 now.
3 – For the heat source I use a 15 watt incandescent light bulb on a cord that will plug into a wall socket. I used the cord and bulb base out of an old lamp. The bulb cost a couple bucks.
The ITC-308 can be set to maintain whatever temp, 68, 75, 79, 88, etc. It can control both the heat (the light bulb) and whatever the source for cooling, except you won’t use the cooling part during winter.
I first tried this proofing box idea using a heating pad but a safety feature built into modern pads requires me to push the [ON] button whenever the ITC-308 cycled the pad off. The ITC-308 is not constantly on, it will be cycling the heat source on/off as needed to maintain temp in the box. If you have an older heating pad it might work, otherwise a low watt incandescent bulb is fine.
