Sourdough ratios are the amount of flour & water you use to feed your starter. Using ratios helps you scale the starter amount up or down, adjust the hydration & the amount of time it takes for your starter to reach peak. The more flour & water to starter the longer it will take to reach peak.
Using equal parts of flour & water means the starter is 100% hydration. The starter will only double the weight of the flour & water mixture once at peak because the starter culture will consume the food & lose some of the weight.
-RATIOS for 100g at peak-
• 1:1:1 ratio-50g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:2:2 ratio-25g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:3:3 ratio-17g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:4:4 ratio-12.5g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:5:5 ratio-10g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:6:6 ratio- 8g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:7:7 ratio- 7g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:8:8 ratio- 6g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:9:9 ratio- 5.5g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
• 1:10:10 ratio- 5g starter/ 50g flour/ 50g water
All you need to do to determine the ratio amount is decide how much starter you want once it reaches peak. Then divide that by 2, & that will be the weight of the flour & water you use. Take the amount you divided by 2, & divide that by 1-10 to determine how much starter you need for your ratio.
Ratios aren’t has complicated as they seem it just takes practice to understand how they work. I suggested experimenting with ratios & see what works best your starter. Every starter is unique it isn’t own way.
🫙Starter, Levain?? What’s the difference between them? Aren’t they pretty much the same thing?
Yes and No, yes they are similar but no, they are not the same thing. Here’s why⬇️
🌟A sourdough starter is the original culture of wild yeast & bacteria. It usually takes 7-10 days to be active enough to use. It’s the culture that needs to be maintained regularly by feeding it equal parts of starter, flour & water to keep it alive.
🌟A sourdough levain is an off shoot of the original culture. It’s created by using ripe starter at peak meaning it’s doubled or tripled in size and then fed a 1:2:2,1:3:3,1:4:4 or higher ratio in a separate jar. The levain is a very strong starter that is used entirely for one recipe, you do not feed the levain after you use it. Most of time there will be none leftover. With a levain you can easily scale the hydration up or down & incorporate new types of flour without altering the original starter.
🌟Using a levain is a game changer & really helps boost the dough. Guaranteeing a more successful loaf
