Forum on sourdough starter and doughs

Alice Buda · 2022-03-28T08:36:04Z

As you may already know, I tend to change my management method more or less frequently pasta madre, to study how she behaves when faced with this or that change. Lately, I must say I've put her through a lot. At times, it's been challenging and frustrating because I've almost compromised her, and it hasn't always been easy to bring her back to her former glory. But it's part of the game and my path of study and learning. As I also tell those who turn to me for consultations, every problem in her life pasta madre It's a treasure, because it's by facing problems that you become an expert in sourdough starter. So I wanted to share with you where I am now, where I have a pasta madre Very beautiful to look at but tending towards acetic. At this precise stage, it seems particularly thirsty. And even though it uses the usual flour (Panettone Z from the Dalla Giovanna mill), it requires much more water than it has always required (maybe the mill changed something!? Maybe that's also the case). The fact is that despite being bagged, which is known to stimulate the production of lactic acid, it has developed excess acetic acidity. I can tell because it tends to be dry, thirsty, not at all sticky, with a very noticeable (albeit pleasant) aroma, and the astringency is clear and comes on very quickly. These days, despite very high and consecutive hydrations, between 46 and 50%, my pasta madre It still cracks on the surface, opening like a flower. And the inside is dry, stringy, torn along the lamination lines, but never spongy, not even slightly, as more often happens when there's a significant lactic acid component. I want to share some photos with you to explain what I mean. Have you ever worked with a sourdough starter with these characteristics? What impact did it have on your doughs? How did you manage it?