Question about starters?

[angrychef]

Very cool! My starter does not produce very acidic breads, but I am very pleased with the flavor results. The depth of flavor is wonderful----the loaves come out with a hint of wheaty nutty sweetness, mahogany reddish blistery crust and great aroma. I've given up on trying to inject steam in any shape or form---I just lose way too much heat and the crust still softens. So I brush the loaves with a small amount of olive oil(I know, it's against the norm, but it's just bread for the family and it seems to work) and pop them in the oven. I get better results from this than spritzing the loaves with water(plus the extra flavor on the crust is yummy).

[KyleW]

Originally posted by angrychef
I've given up on trying to inject steam in any shape or form---I just lose way too much heat and the crust still softens.

Oddly enough, the softening crust can be the result of too much steam. If there is too much steam present then the bread can't bake off sufficient internal moisture during the baking process. It has to leave at some point so it waits until it's out of the oven. As the bread cools the moisture escapes, softening the crust. I had this problem and stopped spritzing as well. What I do is put a sheetpan under my stone before preheating the ove. When I load the loaves, I pour 1 cup of HOT water onto the sheetpan and close the oven. This seems to do the trick for me.

[Isa]

Can a starter be frozen??


Kyle didn't you mentionned a while back you had frozen starter??

[KyleW]

I can only report that starters are supposed to be able to be frozen and revived. Yes I did freeze my starter, copious quantities infact. But I moved before trying to revive any of it. In the madness of moving, the frozen starter did not make the cut

[Isa]

How would you revive the starter Kyle?

[KyleW]

Once it was thawed, I would toss out all but 2 oz. I would add 2 ounces of bread flour and 2 ounces of water an give it a really good stir. Then let it sit for 12-18 hours. It should have more than doubled. Then I would add 3 oz. each of flour and water and let it sit again. After 3-4 feedings the starter should be quadrupling in volume after 8-12 hours. The key to feeding it is to at least double what you are feeding, by weight. If the starter has been domant for a while, or frozen in this case, I like to at least triple it on the first feeding.

[Isa]

Thank you so much for the information Kyle.