A Tale of Two Sourdough Starters | The Science Behind Sourdough Chaos

Today, we'll be revisiting sourdough, more specifically, sourdough starters. Sourdough starters get a lot of reputation for, at times, being difficult to start and troublesome to maintain. This is unsurprising given that, as we've seen before, sourdough resists that sort of normal recipe standardization . In this video, we're going to explore some reasons for that chaos, as well as why those same reasons can be beneficial to our bread. It's going to be another deep dive into sourdough and the science behind it, watch the video for more!
#sourdough #sourdoughstarter #bread #artisanbread
References:
1. Sourdough Bread : the Science and Art • Sourdough Bread: The S...
2. Lau, Siew Wen et al. “Sourdough Microbiome Comparison and Benefits.” Microorganisms vol. 9,7 1355. 23 Jun. 2021, doi:10.3390/microorganisms9071355

[@gittotriono5847]

Hi Novita, I always enjoy your in depth explanations with the tons of related scientific backgound information. And then you finish with sharing your passion for sourdough bread! Terpesona....

[@NovitaListyani]

Wow, thank you!

[@russell2449]

OMG, this explains exactly what happened in some of my previous bakes! I have tended to overfeed my starter sometimes in an effort to hurry its development after some time stored in the fridge - it tends to look great, all bubbly, and then produces under-leavened loaves that are thoroughly underwhelming, lol. Thanks again Novita, your videos are amazing and chock-full of great information ;?)

[@NovitaListyani]

Yes, indeed, it is quite easy to make such a misstep, thank you for your very nice comment :)

[@toutenunmot]

That's quite a thurow explanation 👍. You seem very comfortable with many facettes of science what is your background?

[@blchen1]

Kudos to the amazing demonstration & data visualization!!

[@NovitaListyani]

Thanks! Glad to have your comment on the visualization. Some bakers online are still speculating about the the origin of bubbles in their doughs, the funny thing is Laplace pressure equation of the 19th century has been there all along :)

[@blchen1]

​@@NovitaListyani Laplace to be: I told you so haha. btw, I really like the witty analogy 8:53 between big bang and the divergence of pressure difference (breakdown of the equation)

[@NovitaListyani]

😊

[@ximono]

Amazing video! Everything was so well explained. I guess it's not the best intro to sourdough starters, which is why I'm here, but I now understand (and don't understand) so much about sourdough that I'm eager to dive in and learn more. Thanks :)

[@NovitaListyani]

For introduction to sourdough, you may want to watch our previous video on sourdough kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4XCkHd8rJKUras

[@chopsddy3]

What ever you do when propagating and preserving your starter, Never…..hurt its feelings. 😁🕊🌹🕊 Great video. It helps to confirm my suspicions

[@NovitaListyani]

So true!

[@zazalili7864]

Merci pour vos explications . 🙏 C'est toujours un plaisir de regarder vos videos . 🥳🤳🌝 Courage à vous . 🕊

[@NovitaListyani]

Merci, tu es bien gentil ^_^/

[@anthonyjulianto9699]

BRILLIANT video !!! Thank you

[@NovitaListyani]

You're very welcome!

[@brendanwong24]

I love the chefs table music in the video haha. So what should I do if I leave my starter in the fridge and rely on those quick feedings to get it back up to active?

[@NovitaListyani]

Good question! Our solution is to make more starter to start with, as we bake more lately, but we try to keep the regular feeding pattern that goes well with the starter's predictable nature.

[@brendanwong24]

@@NovitaListyani ah I see…unfortunately that may not be too applicable for me because I only bake about once every fortnight 😭 I’ll reply if and or when I finally figure something out haha

[@tubulartuber]

wow this is great! if you could definitely would consider getting an inexpensive lapel mic, it will add a lot to your videos

[@NovitaListyani]

Thanks for the suggestion, sorry for the background noise, it was raining and thundering a few minutes into recording session 😊

[@sabahbubbler]

@@NovitaListyani appreciate the video. The bg noise is ok, it's the reverb/echo that kinda makes the vocal audio a bit dampen. Lapel or lav mic would be good. Again, i absolutely love the video and explanation %)

[@NovitaListyani]

Indeed, the echo and reverb have been the problems, will try to fix that soon, thanks for the advice.

[@Gulroeg]

@@NovitaListyani Wireless GO II or the DJI Mic will make a world of difference. Just like with the sourdough ;-)

[@NovitaListyani]

Thanks for the advice!

[@rickgeorgette9657]

Thanks for your reply. I am not sure if my theory would work but here is a typical cycle (@26 c): pH 5.14 time 0 (new mix 1:1:1), 4.29, 7 hr., 4.13, 8 hr., 4.06, 9.5 hr., 4.02 11hr.

[@NovitaListyani]

I think Russel's reply to your original question is spot on. pH in sourdough is determined by how much CO2 in the solution, pH around 4 is indeed a good indicator for the readiness of your sourdough starter, but it stays relatively stable from the microorganisms' stationary phase to a third of death phase (as also indicated by the data in your reply here), at the same time, bubbles are also good indicators for the saturation of CO2, thus the readiness of your sourdough starter, they change from big bubbles to foaming or frothing at the end of death phase. So, using visual identification is easier and better in this case, having said that, additional information from pH reading can be very helpful.

[@Mohanadeva]

Looking forward to making sourdough bread now! Wish me luck 🙌

[@NovitaListyani]

You can do it!

[@hempwick8203]

When I first watched a video of yours, I thought "this person is smart and these are really high quality videos"... Still thinking that like 10 videos later, thank you for sharing! Even though there are plenty of bread/wheat flour videos, yours are uniquely awesome and high level technical 🙂 I just started eating wheat again after 10 years without it. I had no idea it was so nourishing and healthy when you leaven and ferment at home. My plan is to create recipes or a business that makes nourishment from wheat simple and cheap, such as no-knead pizza dough thrown in the oven. The reason being that bread making and sourdough starter creation can be a hurdle for some people to jump over, but anybody can mix together flour, water, and yeast in a bowl and throw it in the fridge and cook it on the stove top with olive oil for a cheap source of a large amount of carbohydrate.

[@NovitaListyani]

Thank you for your comment! It sounds like an interesting idea :)

[@rickgeorgette9657]

Hi. I have been working on trying to decide when my starter is ready using pH. I have established a baseline of what the pH is once the starter is fully mature(3.8) and I just look to be close to this number to tell me when to use the starter. Does this sound like a reasonable approach? I am kind of winging it here, and unfortunately there is not enough information out there to guide me.

[@russell2449]

I wonder if pH is going to be accurate enough? It seems to me that the time frame and visual evidence wouldn't be more accurate as pH may not change enough to tell you the difference between when it's mature and exhausted, but that's just my op ;?)

[@pachin253]

I can't make it, so send it to me!　sorry! A good day&cooking!

[@Liz-oc1qt]

Your content is great.. thanks! Please consider eliminating the background music as it makes it hard to hear your speaking track. Thanks.

[@NovitaListyani]

Thanks for the input, we will try to minimize or eliminate the music on the next video.

[@summerbreeze6240]

Great great content. Thank you. Please, please ditch the back music. Your clarity is only diluted and often lost.

I think my IQ increased just by watching this video. Off to incorporate a bigbang into my sourdough culture.

[@NovitaListyani]

😂

[@matthewdelpino218]

This is a bit overloaded with scientific information. Can we just focus on how to improve my bread and the best way to improve the culturing?

[@natashalapierre4109]

There's no science in making sourdough. You just have to know how to make and understand to do sourdough bread and the starter.