It’s Day 3 of my Tartine Bread “journey.” I started the starter on Monday night. The book said it may start bubbling by the second or third day. Here, it did.
Under the crust that formed on top, the mixture is very active, bubbling before my eyes. And it stinks. Like “a stinky cheese,” as the book says.
So I proceeded as directed — to the first feeding of the starter. I discarded 80 percent of the mixture after giving it a good stir. To the remaining 20 percent (91 grams), I added a 1:1 ratio of my flour mixture and water. I added back the same amount I had discarded.
This is where I will get into this… I had a very interesting Twitter conversation with John Wozniak earlier this evening* about the Tartine Bread method of starting a starter. John uses a different method. I won’t divulge it, because I’m hoping that eventually he’ll write about it on his own website. But basically, John is adamant about using the least amount of flour you need to get the job done.
As he points out, and I as discovered tonight, throwing out 80 percent of the mixture each time you feed starts to get wasteful. And quick.
Yeah, it’s just flour, but I don’t got that kinda dough!
* Via DM, so don’t bother looking at our timelines. Not that you would. Because if you did, you would be kind of lame and have way too much time on your hands.