Ok, I've seen all the discussion about the difference between ph at mash temp and at room temp... also the discussion of the test strips reading about 0.3 hi/lo. And now I'm confused.
I wait at least 10 minutes after dough-in, collect a small sample that is, as much as possible, just liquid, let it cool to ambient temp, and then check it with the test strip. Say I read 5.8. Does that mean the mash ph was 5.5? (subtract 0.3 for temperature)... or was it 5.2? (subtract 0.3 for temp and another 0.3 for strip inaccuracy)... or was it 5.8? (subtract 0.3 and then add 0.3)... or am I adding when I should be subtracting or what?
Also, if ph differs at the different temperatures, when they say 5.2 is ideal, what temp is that at?