Ideas?
Thought it will be Friday today so I started my starter process last night and fed again this morning… Only now to realize it’s not Friday (slow work week, not really tuned in to the calendar and thc). So, what do i do with 300G extra, very active starter today knowing i dont need to bake bread until saturday
The KA recipe I posted above said that, as long as you feed the starter at last weekly, you don’t need a freshly fed (and just ripe) started. Just put it in the fridge for now and then pull it out on Saturday.
I’ve also seen recipes for sourdough pancakes (but have never tried it myself).
that’s lazy. I’ve been following the feed and refreshment feed before mixing in strategy for many years now and it’s proven to result in peak performance
I’d rather just use the discard today on some waffles
Maybe. You def bake more than I do, but, at least when refreshing the starter (vs. baking bread), I have not noticed any difference in activity in feeding a freshly mature starter vs. one that’s been in the fridge for a wk or two.
Reading the KA recipe actually confirmed what I had been wondering myself (if a fresh starter was needed).
Hey maybe you and KA are right and not the bakers who I thought were. So this time I’m not (I am… mistake here) going to do it your way :). Less work for me too
Uh, okay… Just trying to bring up a diff perspective and have a genuine discussion. ::shrug::
Foodgeek did a number of experiments where he varied the amount of starter in his mix. The essential takeaway, iirc, was that it mostly didn’t matter. Less starter meant (obviously) more time to come up to volume during bulk, but other than that….
Seems to me a less active starter is more or less the same as less of an active one. Judge your bulk ferment by volume, not time, and I think you’d be fine.
If you’re going to geek out:
I know, i said i’m going to try it your way to test and am doing so currently. not trying to be obtuse
.
Yes, post your results! I’ll prob give it a try early next wk. Not having to wait an extra 12 hrs for the starter post-feeding would be a bit of a game changer, IMHO.
That def seems to be the takeaway I’m getting from what I’m reading.
I do think there is a diff btw a weak starter and a more active one, though. My starter for the past yr or so has generally been strong enough that I trust it to go ~1-2 wk btw feedings w/o any change in activity once fed.
Whereas, when my starter goes longer (eg., months) w/o feeding, it doesn’t get the usual maximal volume b/f pooping out and collapsing for the first few feedings.
There’s ‘not at its peak’ starter and ‘starter you forgot for a month in the fridge’. The latter will definitely need at least two or three feedings to rebalance the yeast-vs-other-bacteria ratio to be back to workable.
It’s happened to me a number of times. The general rule of thumb I’ve read is that your starter should about double (or more) in about 3 hours at around warm room temp (75ish F). Note the precision of that statement. 
Just trying to get a sense of how/what people do.
I used to just “eyeball” the volume of the dough (it’s in a marked clear container) to see when it had doubled. The thing is that, even 30 mins after the last fold, there is still a lot of variation in height in diff areas of the dough. So I’m not sure what part I should be eyeballing.
In the KA video, Martin Philip puts a piece of tape on the container (similar to using a rubber band on your starter container). I did that last time (and this time), but, again, do I just tape ANY part?
The reason I ask is b/c, 12 hrs later, the dough has now totally evened out. But it’s only slightly above where I marked it. But where I marked it was one of the “higher” areas to begin with. I’m going to continue to let it rise b/c the surface is not very bubbly or active looking yet. I also fed my starter last night (8 days after leaving it in the fridge), and the starter grew as it normally does, so I think the dough will con’t to rise (just very slowly; the KA recipe uses a lot less starter than do other recipes).
I know there is no exact answer. But just wondering what other people do.
just to give you a window to my ‘typical’ process, once everything is mixxed and the starter is added, I put it in a closed oven with the light on, that maintains a pretty nice 75-80 degrees, even in winter. As soon as I’m done mixing, I put it in a straight clear container (a big ol Cambro), and, after slightly wetting the backs of my fingers, pat the dough down to a more-or-less level. Then I mark that line with an erasable whiteboard marker. I also mark double the height, and halfway to double (that is, 50% volume increase) I do a set of folds every 15 minutes for 3 sets, then a set every 30 min for 3 sets. I try and carefully pat down the dough with the packs of my fingers after each set, but don’t get TOO fussy about it. Then I let it set for anywhere from an hour to 2+ hours in the oven, until it’s risen somewhere between the 50% and 100% marks. By this time, it should have evened out much more and so you should be able to judge the volume reasonably enough.
Once it hits this stage, I divide and shape, setting them in baskets/bannetons (for batards) or bowls (for boules), put them in a big plastic bag, and set them in the fridge for 15-16 hours to proof.
Bake the next morning.
If you’re letting it bulk for 12 hours in the open, I suspect you’ve either WAY overproofed it, and it’s risen and then collapsed, or something was amiss with your starter, because 12 hours at room temp should be WAY more than enough time. What percent starter did you use?
Damn. Sorry @paranoidgarliclover of course I meant I am trying it your way. Should proof read.
And I did and it was fine, just took longer to bulk . So I’ll just do it your way
Sliced for freezer shows the crumb better
-Appreciation
No problem. And it’s Maura Brickman’s way. 
Your crumb looks good to me. Would you say it’s pretty similar to what you normally get?
Ohmigod, my bulk fermentation took FOREVER. Just completed it (20 hrs later). I did let it almost double, though. Despite using bread flour, my dough was WAY wetter than last time. I did use a higher percentage of rye flour this time, so maybe that was the cause. It’ll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow when I bake…
You know what helps with that? Feeding starter twice lol.
Ya pretty consistent medium open crumb.
Okay, I know you’re (partially) joking, but I fed my starter at the same time as mixing my dough, and the starter matured just fine.
It’s VERY cold in my kitchen right, and this recipe uses 20gm of starter for 500gm of flour (other receipes I’ve used easily have 4x that amt). How much starter does your recipe use?
Ya your instinct is probably right that it’s not enough. Mine is 175g starter for 2 big loaves. Fed, floating, 100% hydr. starter
Microwave with a rock bag is my savior for winter proofing. Last year it was cooler with heating mat
Multitasking while listening to a podcast really stinks. Screwed up the focaccia by having it in the oven proofing and then turning it on to preheat for bread without pulling out the dough. Partially baked then topped and baked. Bad result lol… bread was good though. 1 with golden raisins
The saga continues
Wu tang
