Depending on your availability, you can decide to refresh the Levain every day or extend the storage time to 5 to 7 days.

If you prefer to keep the Levain for more than 1 week, you will have to feed it with different proportions and decrease the amount of flour.

FOR 2 WEEKS OF STORAGE

• 1000 gr of Levain
• 250 gr of Bread Flour (containing 14% to 16% of proteins)
• 250 gr of water

FOR MORE THAN 4 WEEKS OF CONSERVATION

• 1000 gr of Levain
• 125 gr of Bread Flour (containing 14% to 16% of proteins)
• 125 gr of water

HOW TO USE LEVAIN IN YOUR RECIPES

Like Sourdough, Levain must be fed before being used in a recipe. This operation is essential to balance its acidity.

Therefore, if you need to prepare a recipe with Levain, feed it as described above. You can decide whether to feed only the quantity needed for the recipe or the whole quantity.

Keep in mind that with each refreshment, you will need to triple the amount of starter. So, if you need 300 grams of ripe Levain for the recipe, you must divide this amount by 3 to know how much Levain to feed. In this case, you will only need to feed 100 grams. 

Once fed with water and flour, you have 2 options for fermenting your Levain:

• You can let it ferment for 3 hours of leavening at 30°C (86°F) 
• Place it in the fridge for 24 hours at +4°C (39°F).

If you decide to feed the whole quantity you have available, once refreshed, weigh the amount needed for the recipe and ferment it for 3 hours at 30°C (86°F) or 24 hours in the fridge. Pour the remaining part in the container well cleaned and store it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours (up to 5/7 days)

HOW MUCH LEVAIN FOR 1KG OF FLOUR

The average quantity of Levain I recommend using for 1kg of flour varies from 200gr (20%) to 1kg (100%), in case you like bread with a persistent sour note. In my experience, 250gr of Levain for 1 kg of flour is a suitable quantity, which allows you to develop an excellent aromatic note and a balanced flavor.

The leavening temperature is important in choosing how much Levain to use in the recipe. In winter, you can slightly increase the quantity (+10%) and decrease it in summer.

To make homemade bread or pizza, add Levain directly to the dough or use it to make a Biga. In this case, the amount of Biga that I recommend is about 20% of the total flour (for 1kg of flour, I will use 200gr to prepare the Biga and 800gr for the final dough)

HERE IS HOW TO PREPARE THE BIGA WITH LEVAIN

• 100gr of Bread Flour (containing 14% to 16% of proteins)
• 30gr of Ripe Levain (30% of flour weight)
• 30gr of water (30% of flour weight)

To define the correct temperature of the water and have a Biga dough at 19 °C (50°F), you can use this empirical formula:

Water T = 90 – 3x Flour Temp – Levain Temp

For example, suppose the flour’s temperature is 20°C and Levain is at +4°C; the water temperature to use in the biga dough will be 90 – 60 – 4, which is 26°C (78°F).

As for the traditional Biga, fermentation time can vary from 16 – 18 hours at 19°C (66°F), but you can extend the fermentation up to 48 hours, starting the fermentation in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then at 19°C (66°F) for the next 24 hours.

WHAT TO DO IF THE LEVAIN IS TOO ACIDIC

The high hydration of the Levain makes it naturally more acidic than Sourdough and tends to develop a higher concentration of lactic acidity. Very often, the cause of exceeding acidity is the lack of refreshments for a long time.

Recognizing the exceeding acidity of the Levain is essential. It may compromise the recipe’s final result.

Here is how you can recognize when the Levain is too acidic:

• Stinging scent
• Grayish color
• Very soft and stringy consistency 
• Separation of the liquid part on the surface

I recommend removing the watery part from the surface to re-balance the starter without mixing. Then, take the inner part with a spoon and feed it with these proportions:

• 100gr of Levain
• 200gr Bread Flour (containing 14% to 16% of proteins)
• 200gr of water

Refresh the dough as described above, and once it is ready, let it ferment at 26°C – 27°C until it doubles its volume.

After the last refreshment, you can store your Levain in the refrigerator and keep it for up to 5 – 7 days as usual.