Age
4Years
Color
Country of origin Canada
Taste
& Flavour
Mixture
36%
37%
27%
Liquid
Flour
Other
COVIDOUGH-20
Since 2020
My favourite local market has a bread stall and I was talking to the baker about attempting to try baking sourdough and he convinced me I should. I had a lot of experience baking bread from dry yeast but I wanted to get more flavour out of my bread... so I started experimenting. This starter is my third starter, the first one captured mold and the second I started just before this one.
Characteristics
It's a very creamy and smooth starter, sometimes it smells like cheese... only when it feels like it. I started it during the 2020 pandemic, hence the name. It's nutty and quite yeasty, but it still manages to bring a mild yet diverse palette of flavours to loaves. COVIDOUGH-20 is pretty young but it's very active and robust already, rising to it's peak in around 6 to 7 hours. It's dynamite.
Taste & flavour
Recipe
Starting ingredients
- 25g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
- 25g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
- 50g Filtered water
- 25g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
- 25g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
- 50g Filtered water
- 50g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
- 50g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
- 100g Starter
- 100g Filtered water
- 50g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
- 50g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
- 100g Starter
- 100g Filtered water
- 50g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
- 50g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
- 100g Starter
- 100g Filtered water
Feeding ingredients
- 25g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
- 25g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
- 50g Starter
- 50g Filtered water
1
I normally keep 150g of starter in fridge, when I'm going to bake I discard 100g of starter and then feed it with 50g of flour mix and 50g of water. I repeat this process 3 times over the course of 24 hours or when I think the starter is ready to go.
25g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
25g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
50g Starter
50g Filtered water
Working method
1
First I start of by mixing 25g of Organic Unbleached All-Purpose White Flour and 25g of Organic Whole Wheat Flour. I find that the white flour creates more of a milder tasting bread, bit more creamy. I find the whole wheat boosts the starter by giving it a load of nutrients. It also adds some depth and a light nuttiness to the starter. I then mix in 50g of water and leave for 24 hours at 75°f.
25g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
25g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
50g Filtered water
2
After 24h, I repeat the feed with the exact same ingredients and measurements. Leaving it this time for 12 hours at 75°f.
25g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
25g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
50g Filtered water
3
Your starter should be 200g in weight. When the 12 hours of gone by, discard 100g of starter. Then mix in 100g of water to remaining starter and 100g of flour mix (50g white, 50g whole wheat). Leave for another 12 hours at the same temperature. (I like to mix the water and the starter first so it creates a slurry, and then I stir in the flour... I just find it easier).
50g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
50g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
100g Starter
100g Filtered water
4
At this point you should have 300g of starter. I poke it to see if it's alive. I discard 200g of starter, (I normally use the discard in a loaf, but I put in some dry yeast in the recipe as well). Then I repeat step 3, adding 100g of water and 100g of flour mix to the 100g of remaining starter. Leave for 12h.
50g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
50g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
100g Starter
100g Filtered water
5
I repeat process in step three for a few days. Adding 100g of water and 100g of flour mix to the 100g of remaining starter. Leave for 12h. I find when getting a new starter going sometimes it rises for the first couple of days then it kinda settles down and doesn't do much. That's ok, it's just working things out... it'll start doing stuff again... my starter took 11 days to be ready.
50g Organic unbleached canadian all-purpose white flour
50g Organic canadian whole wheat flour
100g Starter
100g Filtered water