Pequod Posted January 31, 2020 Report Share Posted January 31, 2020 Yes. The float test is imprecise at best. Every starter has a rhythm to it. Being flat at 24 hours sounds right. It’s hungry! Out of food! Needs a spot of breakfast. Maybe even elevensies! My starter peaks at about 8 hours post feeding and then deflates. If I feed it fresh milled grains it goes crazy happy and peaks around 5-6 hours. At what point you use it depends on what you’re using it for. For waffles I use a “mature” starter that’s post peak — I just so happen to have a batter for fresh milled einkorn sourdough waffles sitting on my counter for tomorrow’s breakfast. For bread I use it around the peak...slightly young. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted January 31, 2020 Report Share Posted January 31, 2020 Some more info from my pal Maurizio: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/frequently-asked-sourdough-starter-questions/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 1, 2020 Report Share Posted February 1, 2020 I don't know but when mine has increased to 2.5 to 3 times in volume it will float so that is when I use it. I put an elastic band around the container at the start of feeding then it's easy to see how much it has expanded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2020 Thanks! I had been making the decision about when to use the leaven by looking at it but then lost confidence when I decided that I needed to fit with the float rule. Who needs rules??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbie J - Alabama Posted February 2, 2020 Report Share Posted February 2, 2020 Trust your instincts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 Reading the FAQs that @Pequod shared, I now have a name for my "problem". I am moving from a stiff starter to a liquid starter and I may well not have got the liquid starter reliably rising and falling as it should. I am away for a few days now but will get to it when I have a few consecutive days at home to allow me to refresh the starter daily. I have to fess up to yet another new toy. I kind of backed into this one. A friend brought me a gift of some koji condiments over New Year's. They are made by a couple of Japanese women in London who turn up to market once a week with limited stock and shut up shop when it is all sold. My friend had to go early and lie in wait to get me some. Very very delicious. I don't live in London and don't have time to lie in wait so instead bought the Noma guide to fermentation. The conditions for making koji are very precise and I was struggling to figure out how I would get the right heat and humidity combination. I finally came across a post that recommended using an egg incubator or a bread proofer. Duh! A bread proofer was so obvious and so useful. Before now I had been running up and down stairs to the only room that had the right temperature for proofing in the winter. Now I can use the proofer for bread and, when I get to it, as a koji making chamber for the 48 hours that it takes. For once this was not a KK shopping channel purchase but good to have validation that both @Pequod and @MacKenzie have one of these. I got the extra rack so I could fit two proving baskets in there, one above the other. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 P.S. This is a photo for @Basher. I looked up on the train when I went through last week and noticed where I was. For a meeting tomorrow I have been practising how to say Ystradgynlais. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 Haha Tekobo.No one can pronounce that word unless they have had Welsh lessons! Actually I find the language mesmerising, very melodic. Have you heard the Welsh pizza complaint? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 Yep, the Brod & Taylor proofing box and even a grain mill... Over. The. Edge. Down. The. Rabbit. Hole. Let me help you with another purchase: https://www.challengerbreadware.com/shop/challenger/challenger-bread-pan/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 Basher, that is a riot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 4 hours ago, Pequod said: Yep, the Brod & Taylor proofing box and even a grain mill... Over. The. Edge. Down. The. Rabbit. Hole. Let me help you with another purchase: https://www.challengerbreadware.com/shop/challenger/challenger-bread-pan/ Happily, I think I may be able to resist this one. At least until you give me your killer argument for having one. I do already have a dutch oven that works fine for round indoor bakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 36 minutes ago, tekobo said: Happily, I think I may be able to resist this one. At least until you give me your killer argument for having one. I do already have a dutch oven that works fine for round indoor bakes. Uh huh. I’ll just leave this here for future reference. 😜 In truth, I think the biggest advantage is that it accommodates a variety of shapes — boules, batards, demi-baguettes. But I find myself returning to my oblong clay baker because I prefer that shape the most due to uniformity of slices. The Challenger pan makes pretty loaves, my oblong clay baker is for practical loaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) Started some bread yesterday and baked it today on my new Tandoori oven. Stretched the dough out this morning just before baking. One side done. Edited February 3, 2020 by MacKenzie 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 What the... I haven’t seen that one on the KK Shopping Channel! 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 I love it Mac.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 On 2/3/2020 at 5:10 PM, MacKenzie said: Started some bread yesterday and baked it today on my new Tandoori oven. Stretched the dough out this morning just before baking. Neat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 5, 2020 Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 Baked a give away loaf of sourdough bread today. Started it yesterday and did an overnight ferment. It does smell sour. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted February 6, 2020 Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 Wow! Phenomenal blistering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 7 hours ago, MacKenzie said: It does smell sour. Yay! Amping up the sour flavour is nice sometimes. I hope your friend appreciates the restraint that you have shown. I would have had to have a slice. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Tekobo have tried this British creation?https://www.thespringoven.com/theshop#conceptOr have you run out of cupboard space?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
