How to maintain a starter culture

[Matthew]

Thanks again Bill, I'm looking forward to it; should be alot of fun & I'm sure it will bring my pizza to the next level.  I've read through past posts that they send you Iscia & Camadoli.  Is there a big difference between the 2?  I wonder what the end result would be if you mixrd the 2 together. 

[Bill/SFNM]

Thanks again Bill, I'm looking forward to it; should be alot of fun & I'm sure it will bring my pizza to the next level.  I've read through past posts that they send you Iscia & Camadoli.  Is there a big difference between the 2?  I wonder what the end result would be if you mixrd the 2 together. 

You'll learn for yourself how they differ and how you can tweak the taste using different activation and dough management protocols. Give the cultures a few months of use before you draw any conclusions. It can take a while for them to stabilize.

I don't think mixing the two strains into a single culture is something I would want to try. And I have never mixed both activated cultures into a single dough. Not a path of investigation that interests me.

Bill/SFNM

[Matthew]

Washing is a necessary step if your culture becomes contaminated, something that can easily happen during initial activation.

I clean the container after every use:
 - Remove from fridge
 - Feed and activate
 - Remove what is needed for pizza
 - Pour 1.5 cups into another container
 - Feed
 - Clean out original container
 - Pour 2 cups starter into original (clean) container
 - Leave at room temp for 60 minutes
 - Place in fridge

Perhaps this level of attention is not all necessary but I have done it so many times over the years it is second nature and requires little effort. I allow the dough to rest a few minutes after initially combining the ingredients and use that period to prepare the starter for the next session. I have never had a starter fail to activate, become contaminated or to not deliver the expected results using this routine.
 

Hi Bill,
I read Ed Wood's book and now have a quite clear understanding about cultures & how they work.  My only time to make pizza is on the weekend so my culture will remain in the fridge for a week or so on a regular basis.  My culture is currently activating and should be ready within the next day or so. I have decided that I am going to employ your method of culture preparation as it seems to be quite efficient, simple to follow & most importantly will greatly reduce the risk of contamination.  Your video was also a great help, very well done.  My only question is your ratio of flour to warm water, I'm assuming it's 1 cup flour:3/4 cup warm water.

Thanks again for your help.

Matthew

[Bill/SFNM]

I used Wood's procedure for the initial activation. For ongoing activation, I use 3/4 cups flour to 1/2 cup of water.

[AZ-Buckeye]

In Reinhart's Book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, he seems to indicate that you could refresh your starter and then put it back in the frig and use it without refreshing (and straight out of the frig) for up to three days thereafter.  I'm new at using starters and was wondering if anyone has used this method.  I guess I would be afraid that it would not be active enough.  In fact, I've been letting my starter get to room temp and feeding it twice before I use it.

[Pete-zza]

Marianne,

The closest I came to doing what you are thinking about doing is described in Reply 175 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.msg12748.html#msg12748.

It may be possible to use a preferment quantity of starter culture cold right out of the refrigerator but it may take longer for the total dough to ferment. In a sense, it would be like using less yeast and cold water for part of the formula water in a straight dough application.

Peter

[Matthew]

I used Wood's procedure for the initial activation. For ongoing activation, I use 3/4 cups flour to 1/2 cup of water.

Bill,

Based on the amounts of flour & water described above, is it correct to say that the percentage of water in the preferment will eventually be 33.3%? 

Matt

[Bill/SFNM]

Bill,

Based on the amounts of flour & water described above, is it correct to say that the percentage of water in the preferment will eventually be 33.3%? 

Matt

Nope. Weigh 3/4 cup of flour. Then weigh 1/2 cup of water. In my kitchen, the preferment is 52% flour and 48% water. 

[Matthew]

Nope. Weigh 3/4 cup of flour. Then weigh 1/2 cup of water. In my kitchen, the preferment is 52% flour and 48% water. 

Yes, of course, I use to thinking in terms of volume & not weight.

Matt

[Matthew]

Hi Bill,

As I mentioned in a previous post, I really like your culture prep method & have since adapted it using the same Cambro 1 quart container that you use.  I remember reading on a previous post that you proof your starter for about 5 hours @ 80 deg.  I am finding that after about  2 hours & 45 minutues of proofing my Calmodoli starter at 80 deg, it is more than doubled & ready to overflow.  My question is; Is that sufficient time for proofing or should I reduce the temperature to allow the starter to proof for a longer period of time.  I'm not sure if it matters but, by starter is less than 2 weeks old.

Thanks,
Matt

[Bill/SFNM]

It depends on how long the starter has been inactive.

[Matthew]

It depends on how long the starter has been inactive.

About 5 days

[Bill/SFNM]

If it has doubled, it is certainly ready, but letting it continue for a few hours won't hurt.

[Matthew]

If it has doubled, it is certainly ready, but letting it continue for a few hours won't hurt.

Thanks again Bill.  I figured as much.  Next time, I will start to proof at room temperature & then perhaps move to the proofing box if necessary.

[Matthew]

Bill,
I've been using my Calmodoli starter for a couple of weeks now & have been following your prep procedure.  Based on your video, I can see that you are proofing your fed starter @ 80 degrees.  I know that there are alot of variables to consider when answering this question, but I was wondering how long does it take you to fully activate your culture at that temperature for; say; a starter that has been dormant for about a week?  The reason for my question is that after about 3 hours my culture overflows from the container.  It's obvious that my starter is fully activate at this point; but my real question is, is 3 hours sufficient or should I try at a lower temperature; say 75 degrees, for longer.  Will it make a difference in the end result in terms of dough texture & flavor or is that developed during dough fermentation?  I am doing a bulk fermentation of my completed dough for 48 hours at about 68 degrees.

Thanks,
Matt

[Matthew]

See my video which shows some of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQd38yoND0g

Hey Bill,
I'm using my Santos mixer for the first time tomorrow so I thought I'd take a quick peak at your video & it appears to be gone.

Matt

[Bill/SFNM]

It's still there. It works for me. 

[Matthew]

It's still there. It works for me. 

Strange; It's working now.  When I clicked on the link I got a message saying that it was no longer available for viewing.  Must of been a temporary glitch.

Matt

[NY pizzastriver]

See my video which shows some of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQd38yoND0g

Holy Mackerel! I just watched your video, actually I watched all 10 of your videos, amazing mastery. I mostly wanted to chime in to comment on your Nickname. After seeing your OVEN it became as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer that SFNM stands for "Satan's Fire's No Match". And justly so, I've been to hell and back, you win hands down.