For six years I kept my starter at 100% hydration, equal weights of flour and water, because that is what every book I owned told me to do. This summer I finally tried a stiff starter at 50%, and I am not going back.
The difference shows up first in the flavour. A stiff starter ferments more slowly and leans towards acetic acid, so the bread has a sharper, more complex tang without tasting sour in the way a neglected liquid starter does.
How to convert yours
- Take 20 g of your current starter.
- Mix it with 50 g of strong white flour and 25 g of water.
- Knead it into a firm ball and leave it for 12 hours at room temperature.
Repeat the feeding twice and it will have settled into its new routine. Keep the ratio at 1:5:2.5 from then on.
Tried this last week after reading your post and the oven spring was noticeably better, though my kitchen is quite cold right now.
Does this work with a wholemeal starter, or do I need to switch to white flour first before making the change to stiff?