Firm starter acetic or lactic? Conflicting sources.
I've seen several places on this forum say that a stiffer starter encourages the creation of acetic acid which causes a more sour sourdough. (particularly here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/1040 [1])
However, in Reinhart's "Crust and Crumb" he says several times the opposite:
"[The starter] uses a firm mother rather than a sponge, which promotes the growth of the less sour lactic bacteria rather than the acetic bacteria that trive in the wetter medium..." (p79)
"What makes this a San Francisco-style bread is a sour rather than mild starter, a wet rather than firm mother sponge,..." (p76)
"The thicker sponge encourages more of the sweeter lactic acids, while still promoting sourness. As a rule, lactic acid-producing organisms prefer drier sponges and acetic acid (sour) producers like wetter, looser, more oxygen-rich sponges." (p73)
So you can see this isn't a typo as he says it many times. What do you all think?