Hi bakers,
So as I’m learning how to use my starter and make sourdough delights, I come across huge variations in how much starter is used for different types of baked goods. In my mind, less starter just means a longer fermentation time. Is that correct? Or is there another reason that some recipes call for 200g of levain and others call for 60g?
I think the big picture answer is that there is no “proper” way to bake bread. There are lots of different ways that work and many more different ways that don’t work.
With respect to variations in how much starter specifically, all other things equal, in my experience you have it right; the more starter you use, the bigger the population of microbes (yeast and bacteria) you are introducing into your dough, so the less time it will take to fully ferment and reach the best time to start baking. I vary the amount of starter I use to try to fit my schedule (if I need to bake sooner I use more, if later, less).
I really think that trying to rely on the specifics of a recipe in bread baking (once you are past the very beginning stages where you have no experience at all) is a handicap. There are too many things happening in baking a loaf of bread that really make a big difference in your result that a recipe can’t possibly account for. Variations in ambient temperature, humidity, and altitude; the activity and microbial makeup of your starter; the makeup of your particular flour; the temperature calibration of your oven; what kind of vessel you are baking in; on and on and on.
It seems to me much better to pay attention to what’s happening when you are developing your dough and baking it and thereby, over time, come to an intuitive understanding of how to adjust various things that are in your control (like, for example, how much starter to use) depending on what you see and feel (and smell) happening in real time.
Hi, Sarah,
For me, baking with a small amount of starter, around 50g for a small loaf of bread, is a matter of practicality. I only bake once every 10-14 day and don’t want to have to maintain a large quantity of starter which would require that I discard a lot. I hate waste! So, I only maintain about 1/4-1/2 cup of starter. I’m able to use the excess in something like pancake batter and do not have to discard anything. Plus, as you have observed correctly, the small amount of starter allows me to mix my dough in the evening and leave it unsupervised for a long overnight fermentation - a schedule that works well for me. Time is just as important an ingredient as flour, salt, starter, and water.
Have fun experimenting with different recipes and see which works best for you. The more you bake, the more intuitive it becomes.