7:45pm and it’s doing great. My Viking Starter is making me proud. Wait until my 10000 questions about my Breadtopia proofing basket and Oblong cloche lol.
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Looks great to me! Care for a little experiment?
When you feed it tonight form the discard build a test dough.
- 20g starter (discard)
- 60 - 70g water (start off at 60g and add more if needed)
- 100g bread flour
- 2g salt
Knead into a dough ball and place in a small container. Not too big so it spreads. Small enough so you can see it rise. See how it is by morning.
If it all goes well then that’ll be a good indicator. Shall I give you an experimental recipe to use it in should it be a success?
I already fed the beast, but I will try this in the morning for sure. I am all in.
Ok…
So if that test dough goes well then why not use it in a test recipe? When it has risen and the dome has just started to flatten out then go onto the final dough:
- 500g bread flour
- 300 - 350g water (as above - start off with 300g and add more if need)
- 10g salt
- 100g of the matured test dough [discard the dried out top and use the fresh part underneath]
- Form dough and knead till full gluten formation.
- Cover and leave to rise till doubled. Might take a few hours. Can’t give an exact time i’m afraid. 4-6 at a guess! If colder then up to 8. It’s a young starter so might be a bit unpredictable. Keep both test dough build and final dough warm. 75-78F. Speed things up.
- Shape.
- Final proof till ready. About 1.5 - 2 hours.
- Bake.
If it gets too late to bake the dough then after shaping keep it at room temperature for about 30 minutes then put it into the fridge and bake it the next day.
P.s. Start early but if you can’t it might be best to leave the test dough build till tomorrow night so it can mature through the night and you can start on the final dough in the morning. Leaving you more time to see it through.
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Morning! Ok, rose to 2 inches overnight. I was a proud Papa lol. (They grow up so fast! /sob…) Followed the test dough recipe. 66 grams of water. Kind of shaggy, but should be ok. 2 cup plastic container for the test. I have a proofing basket, covers and oblong Cloche I bought from this site with literally no idea on how to use any of it. I’m bad like that once I decide to jump into something.
This is important to me because I am really trying hard to create healthier meals and cut out a lot of processed foods in general. Plus I love learning old world ways of cooking. I will definitely have questions for the 1st bake. Gird yourself sire!!
More pics of my sticky pet.
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Doubling! Looks perfect.
If that dough ball rises enough to fill that small bowl and has a dome then proceed onto the recipe. Hopefully it’ll be done quick enough to give you time to at least shape the final dough. Keep it warm!
I have it above my stove which is 75 degrees constantly. Only goes up or down 1 degree. Hoping that is warm enough. I plan on checking it tonight and then either making the test bread tonight and proofing it or tomorrow morning. I can proof in the rattan basket right?
Remember, however long this takes to rise then a similar time will be needed for the final dough. If it takes too long to make the test dough then you can always repeat the same feed using 20g. We’ll see. Keep me informed and we’ll decide. Yes you can use the rattan basket. Well floured.
Leave it for however long it needs. This will help tell us where it’s at. It’s also bowl shaped so it’ll spread before it rise. Ideally something with straight sides will help in judging the rise.
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Any progress?
Hello,
I just fed my starter. Nearly at the 2 inch mark. Test dough is sad and has flattened out, but no rising that I can see. Is it possible I didn’t knead it enough or is that not a thing? I am painfully uneducated with baking. It’s No knead, pizza and Biscuits for this guy lol. I stink!
Kneading it shouldn’t be an issue. Low hydration starters rise with no kneading. Have you tried priding it open to see if there are any air bubbles? What does it smell like?
Give it a knead for a few minutes. Cover and leave till tomorrow morning. It’s made now, you might as well wait for it to do something. An experiment. Who knows, it may wake up and if you feed it again it might react as a normal dough.
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Ok. I’m not worried. How long can my starter stay out of the fridge for? 10 days as of tomorrow.
As long as you keep feeding it, it can stay out of the fridge forever. So no hurry.
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Ok…better dough ball at least lol. I suck at kneading. 9:00 pm, back in the cabinet at 75 degrees.
See? That’s absolutely fascinating lol
That’s sourdough for you 
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