Comments on: Learning to Cook, Step by Step http://www.cookingmanager.com/learning-cook-step-step/ Helping Home Cooks Save Time and Money in the Kitchen Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:43:03 +0000 hourly 1 By: Hannah http://www.cookingmanager.com/learning-cook-step-step/comment-page-1/#comment-1276 Hannah Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:10:17 +0000 http://www.cookingmanager.com/?p=875#comment-1276 Laurie, thank you so much for your extensive answer (and your agreeing to turn it into a future guest post). Laurie, thank you so much for your extensive answer (and your agreeing to turn it into a future guest post).

]]> By: Laurie Ashton Farook http://www.cookingmanager.com/learning-cook-step-step/comment-page-1/#comment-1269 Laurie Ashton Farook Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:40:14 +0000 http://www.cookingmanager.com/?p=875#comment-1269 I bake bread exclusively with wild yeast (sourdough), and have converted a few recipes over. Yep, there's some amount of trial and error at first until you develop a feel for it. I've got some posts with recipes that I converted from commercial yeast bread recipes to sourdough (wild yeast) bread recipes on my blog at http://food.laurieashton.com. Because <a href="http://food.laurieashton.com/2009/06/more-sourdough-starter-is-a-good-thing-right/" rel="nofollow">I had much the same question</a> about how much sourdough, and because I had a failed recipe, I researched and found that the answer is about 20% of the flour weight in fermented flour. Since I know that's going to be confusing, let me use an example with easy math. If your recipe includes 1000 grams flour and 650 grams water, and your sourdough starter is <a href="http://food.laurieashton.com/2009/06/bakers-percentages-and-bread-hydration/" rel="nofollow">100% hydration</a> (that is, a 1:1 ratio of flour to water by weight), then I would use this: 800 grams flour (1000-200) 450 grams water (650-200 because the starter is equal amounts of water and flour) 400 grams sourdough starter (200 grams flour + 200 grams water) You can use less sourdough starter for sure. It'll take longer to rise, which is a benefit to some people. But in most cases, I wouldn't use more. I say most because I do have a recipe or two that I use where I do exceed the 20% by quite a bit, but those are the exception, not the rule. I hope this isn't too confusing. If it is, please ask and I'll clarify. :) I bake bread exclusively with wild yeast (sourdough), and have converted a few recipes over. Yep, there’s some amount of trial and error at first until you develop a feel for it. I’ve got some posts with recipes that I converted from commercial yeast bread recipes to sourdough (wild yeast) bread recipes on my blog at http://food.laurieashton.com.

Because I had much the same question about how much sourdough, and because I had a failed recipe, I researched and found that the answer is about 20% of the flour weight in fermented flour.

Since I know that’s going to be confusing, let me use an example with easy math.

If your recipe includes 1000 grams flour and 650 grams water, and your sourdough starter is 100% hydration (that is, a 1:1 ratio of flour to water by weight), then I would use this:

800 grams flour (1000-200)
450 grams water (650-200 because the starter is equal amounts of water and flour)
400 grams sourdough starter (200 grams flour + 200 grams water)

You can use less sourdough starter for sure. It’ll take longer to rise, which is a benefit to some people. But in most cases, I wouldn’t use more. I say most because I do have a recipe or two that I use where I do exceed the 20% by quite a bit, but those are the exception, not the rule.

I hope this isn’t too confusing. If it is, please ask and I’ll clarify. :)

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