Naples crust with sourdough

[David Deas]

He didn't mention Varasano.  Sorry.  I'm getting my threads confused.  It was Pibb that mentioned Varasano so I'll edit my previous post.

[TXCraig1]

Is sourdough worth it?  Obviously the consensus is that it is not since most of the world uses commercial yeast. 

Now there is a test I don't think I'll use in decision making...

[Skee]

I have an SF culture that has been living in my fridge for 4 years, and I've never noticed a change in it either. I believe very little of what I read or hear when it comes to SD cultures.

+1  I have a SF culture from 1987 that I've carried across the country twice, used many times as a starter for commercial production when I was a baker, and most recently left stranded in the back of my coldest beer fridge for over three years with no feedings at all until a couple months ago when I "found" it and used a couple tablespoons to create a new batch.  Is it the same as it was almost 30 years ago?  Probably not, but it's very nicely lactic and balanced.  I made/make an effort to not expose it to the open air for more time than required to maintain it and it's making some great pizza now.

[3.1416]

Spent last week making crusts of varying percentages of inoculation and time. Also spent 3 days firing my oven. Fired it for 8 hours the first day and only got to 550 deck temp. Let it rest 14 hours and fired it for 6 hours and hit 800 degrees on deck. Third day took only one and a half hours to reach 800 degrees. Found that a 4% inoculation at 64% hydration seems to work best for me with KA bread flour. Made 20 pies for our Sunday guests. Two fold-over mistakes. The crusts did not stand out with minimal toppings. Everyone raved. Thanks for the all info I have gleaned on this site. By the way, I stopped firing about 2:00 pm Sunday. Put the door on at 5 pm. Baked biscuits and egg and sausage casserole the next morning at 380 degrees from the residual heat.