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Re: sourdough starter conversion

Mike Avery <mavery@mail.otherwhen.com>
Sun, 11 Aug 2013 10:06:28 -0500
v113.n030.5
On 8/10/2013, Jeff Kreitman <jeffkreitman@gmail.com> wrote:
>I need some help confirming my math on how to convert a sourdough 
>starter that I normally maintain at 100% for a recipe in a different 
>book based on a starter built at 145%.  If I would normally add 8 
>ounces of water and 8 ounces of flour, do I now add the same 8 
>ounces of flour and 11 5/8 ounces of water to make the 
>conversion?  Also, can I do this conversion in a single feeding or 
>do I need to feed the starter in this new ratio multiple times before baking?

There are several ways to approach this.  If you "just want to make 
the bread", you can adjust the recipe by changing the amount of water 
and flour in the recipe to accommodation the difference.  It will get 
the dough hydration where you want it and is the least hassle.  It 
will work and produce a good bread.

However, some people maintain that thick and thin starters behave 
differently, and that it takes as much as a week of regular feedings 
for the changes to become manifest.  I think they are right.  So, if 
you want to make the bread the recipe's author had in mind, you could 
take a small amount of your regular starter and feed it for a while 
to get it where the recipe calls for it to be.

-Mike
*Bake With Mike <http://www.bakewithmike.com>*
Mike Avery
Email to:mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com

A Randomly Selected Bread Saying Of The Day:
The primary purpose of education is not to teach to earn your own 
bread, but to make every mouthful sweeter.
-- James R. Angell