Italian sourdough (Levito madre) - cultivation and care

Yeah, I didn't add it at all, for the sake of experiment!

[Ksyusha]

Ksyusha, come on, prick, why did they take the lope, did the lope

[Ksyusha!]

could not resist, and still baked cinnabonchiks for Levit, help yourself!

Ksyusha! how wonderful! Well done! Both you and Levita!
Well, and I want details!

Nastya, how to determine then what can be already baked?
Wake up time or what?

The leaven becomes ripe after 30 days, the first five to seven days, while there is a struggle between good and bad microbes, we throw away the remains. We take a little from the core and feed it. The most correct microbes are just in the middle, the rest was nutrition. Do not add 100 grams of sourdough. Turn it up to 40-50, that's more than enough, or you will exhaust a lot of flour. from 50 grams of starter culture after feeding, 120 grams are already obtained. You can, of course, start a hundred, this is a personal matter I started at 40 grams and the sourdough grew well both from banana and from grapes. Subsequent feeding: leftovers go into the dough, a spoonful of sourdough from the core for feeding.

Don't throw your slippers at me ... I put a test piece of Levita in the refrigerator, and so, I really liked her condition after the refrigerator, she remained elastic and continued to grow. I tolerated two days of hunger easily and lifted my bread dough in 4 hours without adding any other yeast. The structure of the leaven has changed, it almost stopped sticking, you can take it with your fingers and it does not immediately shrink into a lump. The taste of sourness is only guessed, although there is a sour smell. At my own peril and risk, I completely transferred the 2-week starter culture to the refrigerator, I feed it according to the scheme: 50 Levites + 25 water + 50 manitoba, the final product turns out to be 120 g (apparently 5 g turns into a gaseous state), 50 g goes back to storage, and 70 - in baked goods (no waste). I'll clarify, this is only MY experience.

Trishka, cool cinnabons!

J @ ne, mine is exactly the same.

[Sveta]

Sveta, yes, exactly like on your

or yours?

photo after the refrigerator and video on the link.

Ksyusha, really, as soon as you try to bake on it, you begin to "feel" its state and understand enough of its power, or is it still not enough?
Delicious cinnabons!

[But I just want to ask what to do with the remnants of the Levite, if today tomorrow I will not bake, but it's a pity to throw it away ???]

Girls, thanks for the praise!
Today I was worried in the morning, I think Fse my rolls soured, and my husband tried and said that they were sour yesterday, but today they are practically not ...
But, of course, the dough turned out to be not as airy as we are used to with yeast baking, heavy ... maybe she gave a little to come before baking?
I took the dough recipe here, only counted it for 200 grams of Levita.

She rolled out the dough that came up into a rectangle, greased with butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.
I turned it into a roll, cut it into buns and put it in a mold, proofing for about an hour, baking at T * 180.
Hot rolls smeared with cream: soft curd + sugar. powder + milk + a piece of soft butter.

But I just want to ask what to do with the remnants of the Levite, if today tomorrow I will not bake, but it's a pity to throw it away ???

let's

Svetlan, to me on "you", ok?

it's true

Well, I'm still learning the current, we are not yet used to each other!

Now, an hour of proofing would not have been enough for me, for sure! It is necessary to double it, I wait three to four hours for bread.

what to do with the remnants of the Levites

Put it in the refrigerator, then you will see how it looks, if it's nice, then you can bake it (I do this, I can't throw it away, knowing what it cost to get this flour).

[j @ ne]

j @ ne, and mine too. I spoke about this earlier.With this storage, the leaven feels great, grows well and quickly in preparation for baking. And it is very easy to cut it into small pieces for feeding.

Ksyusha, I keep my unfed one in the coldest part of the refrigerator. One is already two weeks old. The flight is normal.
But yours is still very young and can be put in the cold, having previously wrapped in a film. But store no more than 6 days. Then she will still be alive, but very weak.

young and can be put in the cold

Is it necessary to feed her before that or is she hungry?

Do you feed the part that you grow and maintain, and you simply collect the REMAINS and continue to store without feeding, otherwise how do they differ from the main Levite? Then you dispose of it in the dough, but look, if they taste STRONGLY sour, then you better not bother.

[j @ ne]

j @ ne, Zhenya, thank you!

otherwise, how are they different from the main Levites?

Well, only by the fact that I put them in the refrigerator so that they don't get too rowdy!

I already store all the leaven in the refrigerator (NOT for imitation, just MY special case).

[Sveta]

Sveta, yes, exactly like on yours or yours?

Well, of course on you. We're all kindred spirits, obsessed with Levito, right?

Yeah, as my husband says "rock fans" ...

Do you feed the part that you grow and maintain, and you simply collect the REMAINS and continue to store without feeding, otherwise how do they differ from the main Levite? Then you dispose of it in the dough, but look, if they taste STRONGLY sour, then you better not bother.

Damn, but I feed the leftovers, I'm afraid they will turn sour, and yes, I get two pseudo-Levites, only I make the leftovers thinner. I'll try to do this - I'll roll it into a ball - and into a jar, right?

[Volume]

Volume I wrote above how she stores, her experience will be richer, I only "stored" in 2 days.

Today I baked bread for Levito, from 400 g of white and 100 g of whole grain flour. Delicious and no sourness. Baked on the stone.

Pretty boy !

Girls, can the top we take off can be used in baking?

[Newbie]

Newbiehow many people, so many opinions ... At the stage of excretion, while the leaven is just emerging, it changes its smell, structure - we use only the middle part, we achieve the stability of the microbiological composition, the rest is ruthlessly thrown away. When the sourdough is ripe (as MINIMUM, after the fifth feeding), we try to bake it on it, but keep it warm to get stronger, then I do not see a crime in using the blank completely. Again, this is just my opinion and I did so.

djemma, Svetochka, very beautiful photos and wonderful bread!

[djemma, Light!]

djemma, Light!, awesome bread! Oh, when will mine grow? Today will be the fourth feeding

Thank you girls. I am finally completely satisfied with my Levito.

Girls, can the top we take off can be used in baking?

if the sourdough is already a week old, then the leftovers and the top go into the baking. I leave a tablespoon from the middle for feeding, the rest in the dough.

ok, otherwise the toad is strangling

[Newbie]

Newbie, focus on the smell of the leaven, if it is unpleasant or incomprehensible, then the microflora is not yet on the side of good microbes, as it starts to smell nice, this is somewhere on the fifth and seventh day, then you can safely use all the leftovers. The fact is that the pathogenic microflora secretes toxins, so they are harmful. I have never been a microbiologist, I took all the information from baking sites, I have no reason not to trust them. Moreover, throwing away the leftovers for only a week, health is more expensive.

Girls, I'm wildly delighted. Levito madre works better and better for me. I baked white bread today. It's still hot, so I didn't break it or cut it. She baked this time in a cast iron pan. The cuts seem to have made a little deeper than necessary.

oh, and for the first time, the whole jar was sweating, the Levite barely peeps, what is it?

Today I baked in a bread maker, maybe someone will benefit from my experience.
Olga Pekarko's recipe French bun.
levito (100g)
▪️515 g premium wheat flour
▪️340-380 g water
▪️25 g sugar
▪️10 g salt
▪️ 25 g butter
First, I moistened the flour with water for half an hour,
then I added all the ingredients and kneaded them into hp.
As the dough began to move away from the walls, I turned off the hp and took out the dough.
For 4 hours the dough lay in a bowl under a film.
At home it is neither hot nor cold.
I cheated once every half an hour and did not cheat, but folded it in an envelope, like a ciabatu.
I switched on hp to the dough mode, pulled out the stirrers, waited until the hp stopped interfering.
She carefully took the dough that had come up and, without crinkling, shaped it into a cylinder.
I have HP with two mixers, so I formed the dough under a bucket.
Hour xn raised the dough.
The dough stood for an hour after the end of the program.
Has turned on the baking mode.
An hour was baked, rose by another quarter.
The bread turned out to be airy, light, I hold it in my hand, almost weightless and what I like is without a rough crust, but a light crust crunches when pressed.

the jar is sweating

gases from fermentation are released, the temperature inside the jar differs from the temperature outside.



oh, in the photo it turned out so tanned, in fact, pleasantly blushed.

[Anastasia]

gases from fermentation are released, the temperature inside the jar differs from the temperature outside.

isn't it scary? otherwise, almost a vinegar smell hit my nose when the lid was opened, and then nothing, the smell disappeared, now I didn't screw the lid tightly, but just covered it.

Anastasia, good bread, ruddy
and why moisten flour with water? and you did not feed the Levite before baking? why bother every half hour?
how troublesome ...

Girls, what bread you have, beauty!
Thanks for the recipe, Nastenka!

[Ksyusha]

and why moisten flour with water? and you did not feed the Levite before baking? why bother every half hour?
how troublesome ...

autolysis method, flour is moistened with water

🔗

The autolysis technique was developed by Professor Raymond Calvel, a renowned expert in 20th century French bakery. Loosely translated, autolysis is "self-digestion". It is effective in the production of French bread, as well as many other breads based on natural sourdough dough (with the exception of rye sourdough dough, as due to the lack of gluten it will deteriorate during this period). The technique, described in detail by Professor Calvel in 1974, involves slowly mixing flour and water as required by the recipe. Salt, yeast and sourdough are not added in this phase (except for liquid wheat sourdough). After thoroughly mixing flour and water, the dough is covered and left to rest for a period of 20 minutes to 1 hour. At this time, the flour is completely hydrated and the gluten, in some magical way, continues to develop, despite the lack of mechanical stirring. At the end of the rest period, the rest of the ingredients are added and the batch is resumed (more intensively). The test now takes much less time to develop; in my experience, the total mixing time is reduced by over 40%. In fact, the dough will form much faster after the autolysis phase is complete, but it can also break down quickly, so you need to keep your eyes on it during kneading. Due to the fact that the autolysis method reduces the total kneading time, the oxidation rate of carotenoids1 decreases, as a result of which the baked loaf is more flavorful, the crumb is more open and "airy", and the cuts on it are more pronounced. Professor Calvel calls it all more succinctly when he describes French bread made with the autolysis technique as "plus séduisant" (more seductive).

I myself did not believe in this method until I tried it, now it’s the only way.

Levito came up, fed at night, in the morning set aside 30 grams for feeding, kneaded one hundred grams into dough. Folding makes the bread weightlessly airy, the pores of the bread are large, and with normal kneading, the pores are small.
folding technique from 4 minutes. But I do not dust with flour, as in the video.I go to the bowl of dough, moisten my hands with water and fold. Time takes a little. Doesn't even take a minute.

isn't it scary? otherwise, almost a vinegar smell hit my nose when the lid was opened, and then nothing, the smell disappeared, now I didn't screw the lid tightly, but just covered it.

and how many days for leaven?



Ksyusha, the recipe is proven! you get a real French bun with a light crispy crust and delicious crumb. Of course, everyone knows their HP and someone will have to argue less, someone more. So far, I have managed to make friends with Levito HP, there were many unsuccessful attempts, right up to the point of using HP to the point of failure. I baked for a long time only in the oven. But Mommy Rita inspired me to try again. It turned out even better than in the oven, with a minimum of movement. What I dislike about the oven is that it doesn't move away. Look in, adjust the temperature, here and there, then the crust, then burnt. In xn everything is already provided for the correct baking of bread.
Autolysis
kneading 10 minutes in hp-
proofing in a basin
several folds
proofing in HP-
baking in hp-
grate cooling

and how many days for leaven?

two weeks, but on day 9 I punished her for being gluttonous, sent her to the corner ... of the refrigerator

[Svetlana]

Svetlana, Anastasiawhat bread! Nastya, thanks for the recipe and process description for HP!

[Natasha]

two weeks, but on day 9 I punished her for being gluttonous, sent her to the corner ... of the refrigerator

I advise you to bathe, 3-4 liters of filtered or settled water, a teaspoon of sugar, twist the leaven with a sausage and leave to swim overnight. In the morning, squeeze, weigh and feed as usual, but you either have to add a little less water or a little more flour, Levito is more humid after the bath. Some of my Levito also stagnated in the refrigerator, I had to bathe. After bathing, I gained strength, now I will bathe at least once a month.



Natasha, use it to your health!

I advise you to bathe, 3-4 liters of filtered or settled water, a teaspoon of sugar, twist the leaven with a sausage and leave to swim overnight.

yeah, you need to redeem, otherwise it also tastes a little bitter

oh, I forgot to ask - and bathe hungry or fed?

And I'll come to you with the first bread!
Baked on Saturday, on the remains of Levito, after feeding.
This is how it turned out, delicious, practically not sour, although it stood for about 7 hours in the warmth.
Help yourself.


I baked according to this recipe, but instead of c / s flour, it was premium, plus added bran.
Svetochka, thank you very much for the recipe!
Italian sourdough (Levito madre) - growing and care # 702

[Ksyusha]

Ksyusha, Congratulations! Wonderful bread!

Akshirt, beautiful bread!

[Ksyusha]

Ksyusha, well, just super!

why did I become Ya_kochiwon? A-a-a-a, April 1st, cool

[Ksyusha]

oh, I forgot to ask - and bathe hungry or fed?

the hungry cannot be redeemed, it will melt in bathing. You need to bathe a dense sausage.



Ksyusha, with a start !!!



I forgot to add, after swimming, the sausage must float up and become covered with pores with bubbles. If it doesn’t come up, pry it at the bottom with a spoon, it may just stick to the bottom.

Thank you girls!
I tried to .

Borodinsky according to the recipe of 1939 (from our forum) and Ukrainian, aka Kiev. I set the leaven overnight. I didn’t add dijji at all. While hot, I'll cut it tomorrow.
.

[Trishka]

Trishka, Congratulations! The bread is gorgeous!

Ahahaha, it hit me like a giraffe. Trishka, Ksyusha, this is your bread!

[Volume]

Volumewhat bread!
And the details will be?



Anyut, Thank you !

Trishka, Ksyusha, this is your bread!

Aha, my!
This is a joke on the site today, all Nicky have been rearranged!

Yes, and I just noticed.

[Ksyusha]

Ksyusha, I took Borodinsky's recipe from us here. The only thing is that my Levito is not sour at all. Apparently due to the fact that he lives in the refrigerator. I had to keep it on the battery so that the taste became vinegar sour. Sourness should be felt in these breads.

Bodinsky we have here

Well, cooking on Levito is different, how what and where?