Sourdough starter

[ped]

OK so I've been nurturing a sourdough for a while now but quite frankly I have no idea how to incorporate it into the whole mix (i.e proportion of starter to flour/water), the starter is comprised equal parts starter/flour/water each time I feed it so I assume it is classed as a Levain. It seems that Hydration is an important element of the doughmaking formula so how do I calculate what is the proportion of flour and water I am adding to the  main flour/water mix when adding the starter and what % should that be? (head exploding at this point!!)

I do tend to complicate things and think too much sometimes and in this case I think I probably have!!?

[TXCraig1]

You can use this table to find a starting point to adapt many different baker's yeast recipes to SD (sourdough). Pick your fermentation time and temperature, and I will tell you how much to use. Keeping in mind that there are many different workflows and that all starters behave differently, some testing and tweaking should be expected.

The basic assumption is 100% hydration starter (equal weight flour and water). As long as you keep the starter quantity under 3-5%, you probably don't need to adjust the formula water to account for the water in the starter. Over that amount, you might want to or you dough can start to get wetter than expected.

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=22649.0

More info on using the table above:
https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=22649.msg230690#msg230690

[TXCraig1]

If you haven't made a lot of pizza to date, you might want to start with baker's yeast such as IDY or ADY. It's a lot simpler and more predictable. Once you get the basic skills nailed, move on to sourdough.

[ped]

Thanks TXCraig1
The 3-5% answer was what I was looking for and yes don't worry I will be using standard IDY/ADY as well, I just needed to scratch this sourdough starter itch
Thanks again

[EyeWontWin]

I've been wondering about this ratio for a while, and now I'm not quite sure why I haven't gotten the answer until now. My first starter turns a year old on the 8th of August, right around the time my Bollore should be showing up. What a perfect excuse to dip my toes into the world of naturally leavened pizza