Starter & measurements
Plan a feeding for your baking time
How can I prepare tomorrow's starter without exhausting it?
The ratio defines starter, fresh flour and water weights; the actual time must be measured.
Understand the process
Here 1:2:2 means one part mother starter, two parts added flour and two parts added water by weight. At otherwise comparable conditions, the ratio changes inoculation and dilution of existing compounds.
More flour does not add a fixed number of hours. Flour, temperature, hydration, mother-starter condition and previous maintenance still matter. A ratio cannot correct unsuitable temperature or weak starter by itself.
Step by step
- Set the intended use time and the holding temperature actually available.
- Write all three weights to avoid ambiguity.
- Keep a mother-starter reserve under its usual maintenance.
- Compare two small feeds, changing only the ratio and keeping total hydration comparable.
- Repeat and select the ratio reaching a useful stage at the required time.
What to record
- Starter, flour and water in grams
- Temperature and time at the useful stage
- Performance in a control dough
PROPOSED EXERCISE · VALIDATE IN YOUR CONDITIONS
One trial, one variable
Documented usual ratio.
More fresh flour, with water adjusted to maintain hydration.
Keep comparable
Same mother starter, flour, container and temperature.
What to look for
Observe timing and strength without promising a fixed number of hours.
Record unexpected differences, then repeat before adopting a change.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing 1:2 without defining the quantities.
- Changing ratio, flour and temperature together.
Conditions of use
Changing the ratio is a scheduling experiment, not a universal treatment for an unbalanced starter.