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tips for a superb levain

post #1 of 5
10/4/06 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
my starter is perfect and i'm sure that i'm doing everything else correctly, but my levain is just messing up. it says to let sit between 8-12 hours, but i normally have to let it sit for 15 hours due to time constraints. Any tips for extending the life of my levain? Should i just add more flour?
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post #2 of 5
10/5/06 at 3:23am
By levain are by referring to an intermediate build? If so have you tried letting it sit out for a while and then tossing it into the fridge? Even 12 hours sounds like a very ling time. It should be used at its risen peak and a healthy active levain shouldn't take that long to reach its peak.
At weddings, my Aunts would poke me in the ribs and cackle "You're next!". They stopped when I started doing the same to them at funerals.
www.kyleskitchen.net
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post #3 of 5
10/5/06 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
i didn't really think about the fridge, that would probably slow down the yeast enough to give me some leeway.
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post #4 of 5
10/5/06 at 4:13pm
Welcome to the wonderful world of retarding :)
At weddings, my Aunts would poke me in the ribs and cackle "You're next!". They stopped when I started doing the same to them at funerals.
www.kyleskitchen.net
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post #5 of 5
10/10/06 at 9:44am
Like Kyle, I mix my levain from the mother starter, let it sit on the counter 2-4 hours, then refrigerate 6-12 hours before use. As a bonus, the long, slow ferment tends to intensify the sour flavor.

Which is why I like to let my shaped loaves retard overnight in the fridge. They're good n' tangy when baked the next day.

-Joe
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