Stiff starters?
I’d like to get a more sour taste to my breads. I’ve had fair success with “common” 100% hydration starter- but the taste is only so so. I understand that reducing the hydration of the starter will lead to a more sour taste.
jFrom a recipe I’ve found here, I have built a “stiff rye starter” that began with rye, but changed to APF. It is several weeks old now and seems to respond well to feedings.
I did a feeding today with 20g starter, 30g water & 50g BF. In about 4 hrs it close to doubled and has lots of strands. BUT - it won’t float!
Question #1 - should ripe stiff starter float like the liquid varieties?
Question #2 - how is stiff starter actually used in a bake? If the recipe calls for say 100g starter- would I just put in a 100g lump of the stiff starter? O r does it need other handling?
=Alan R.
1. A ready starter doesn't need to pass the float test (rough handling can degas it for example). Instead, make sure it has peaked and fallen a little, at that point it's at peak maturity and ready to be used in a dough or to be fed.
2. Yes, but check the recipe whether it uses a liquid or stiff starter. Make sure to adjust hydration if necessary.
For example if the original calls for 400 g flour, 240 ml water and 200 g liquid starter (altogether 68% hydration), if you are using stiff starter (60% hydration, like yours) that would be either:
1. 375 g flour, 265 ml water and 200 g stiff starter (68% hydration, 5% more prefermented flour) or
2. 400 g flour, 282 ml water and 200 g stiff starter (68% hydration, a little more dough)
I hope my maths is correct, but you get the idea. The fermentation rates shouldn't be affected too much.
Thanks for that explanation. Sune “FoodGeek” has a great on-line calculator. I can put my numbers into that - should help getting the hydration right.