I'm not sure either why it does it but I can say it's consistent, I have
done quite a bit of testing over the last 2 years and every loaf I bake with
the 'Carl's' starter , has a rather pale crust, whether I intentionally
under ferment it, over ferment it, or (usually) try to get it just right.
The loaves I make using 'Mikey's NJ' starter always get a nice rich brown
crust. The Mikey's caramelize a lot faster in the oven, showing color way
sooner than the ones made with 'Carl's'.

I'm not saying the bread made with 'Carl's isn't good, they are still very
good bread and taste great, but I can never get a rich dark crust on them,
trying to overbake them the bottom would blacken before the crust overall
was dark enough for my tastes, while the 'Mikey's' ones are turning dark way
early in the bake and the concern if anything would be to make sure the
center is at 204F or more before the crust is too dark.

I always assumed that two factors could be causing this effect;
1)That there is some different bacteria mix in my starter that uses up less
of the sugars released from the flour, and this extra sugar in the dough
causes the darker crust.
2) I speculated too that the longer time the starter takes to develop the
loaf might mean that the enzymes have more time to release more sugars from
the starches in the flour too.

I would love to hear other opinions though

--
Mikey S.
"BH" wrote in message
...

Will someone help me understand why / how a starter can affect the
color and taste of the crust?