Starter types chapter (#13)

* This adds the starter types chapter

* Add note on flour types

* Check starter types

README.md

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ The book is a work in progress. This represents the current status:
 * ✅ Enzymes
 * ✅ Microorganisms
 * ✅ Making a starter
-* ❌ Sourdough starter types
+* ✅ Sourdough starter types
 * ❌ Flour types
 * ❌ Bread types
 * ❌ Wheat sourdough

book/book.tex

@@ -68,10 +68,7 @@
 \input{sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter}
 
 \chapter{Sourdough starter types}
-\section{The regular starter}
-\section{Stiff starter}
-\section{Liquid starter}
-\section{Lievito madre}
+\input{sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter-types}
 
 \chapter{Flour types}
 \section{Wheat like}

book/sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter-types.tex

@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+In this chapter of the book we will have a closer look
+at different sourdough starter types and their respective
+traits.
+
+\begin{table}[htp!]
+\centering
+\resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{%
+\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|r|l|}
+\hline
+\textbf{Starter type} & \textbf{Hydration in \%} & \textbf{Flour type}     & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\textbf{Yeast activity}} & \textbf{Bacterial activity} \\ \hline
+Regular               & 100                      & Strong wheat flour      & Balanced                                     & Balanced                    \\ \hline
+Liquid                & 500                      & Very strong wheat flour & Minimal                                      & High                        \\ \hline
+Stiff                 & 50-60                    & All wheat flour         & High                                         & Low                         \\ \hline
+\end{tabular}%
+}
+\caption{\label{tab:starter-types-comparison}A comparison of different sourdough starter types}
+\end{table}
+
+Depending on the flour you have at hand the type of starter changes. With more
+bacterial activity you have more gluten consumption of your microbes. So if
+you want to bake a free standing loaf you need a flour with more gluten. The
+more gluten you have the more of it can be broken down whilst still maintaining
+dough integrity. If you live in a country where the climate to grow wheat
+isn't ideal and you only have weaker flours, then a stiff sourdough starter
+could be advised. The stiff sourdough starter will improve yeast activity and
+reduce bacterial activity. If you are a chaser of a very sour bread and have a
+very strong wheat flour then you can try to play with a liquid sourdough
+starter. The key difference between all of the starters is how much water
+is used in the starter. The regular starter having a 1:1 relationship of flour
+to water. The liquid starter has a 5:1 water to flour ratio and the stiff
+starter has half the flour as water.
+
+You can change your starter type by just adjusting the feeding ratio of how
+much flour and water you use. I frequently changed my starter type from
+regular to liquid and then back to a stiff starter. After changing the
+environment of your microbes apply feedings at the same ratio over a couple of
+days so that they can adapt to the new environment. I could already see
+changes after a single feeding, but I recommend 2 to 3 feedings, one feeding per
+day to see a stronger effect.
+
+Your dough is generally just a big sourdough starter. So your starter is going
+to adapt and regrow inside of your main dough. But you can influence the
+properties that your starter carries over to your main dough. If you have more
+bacterial fermentation then your dough will also have slightly more bacterial
+fermentation. If you have more yeast fermentation then your main dough will
+have slightly more yeast fermentation. This is important to know when you are
+working with a more mature unfed starter. Let's say your starter had last been
+fed 48 hours ago, then chances are your bacteria is very active while the
+yeast could be dormant. In such a case you can skip feeding your starter
+before making another dough. Just use a very tiny amount of starter. For 1000g
+of flour I would take around 10g of starter (1 percent in terms of baker's
+math). If my starter is very young and had just been fed 6 to 8 hours ago I might
+end up going up to 20 percent of starter. Remember that your dough is nothing
+else other than a big starter. It will tremendously help you to figure out
+your best next steps.
+
+\section{Regular starter}
+
+\begin{figure}[!htb]
+  \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{sourdough-starter.jpg}
+  \caption{A regular sourdough starter at 100 percent hydration fed with rye flour}
+  \label{fig:regular-sourdough-starter}
+\end{figure}
+
+The regular sourdough starter is made at a hydration of around 100 percent.
+This means the starter has equal parts of flour and water. This is the most
+common and must universal sourdough starter there is. The starter has a good
+balance of yeast and bacteria. After a feeding the volume increases and
+increases. After it reached a certain peak it will start to collapse again.
+
+The best way to judge whether the starter is ready is to look at signs such as
+pockets on the edges of your container. Also use the nose to to evaluate the
+smell of your starter. If you feel that the starter doesn't perform in a
+desirable way chances are that your yeast and bacteria ratios are off. In that
+case frequently daily feedings using a 1:5:5 (starter:flour:water) ratio will
+help.
+
+The starter is perfect to use when utilizing stronger wheat or spelt flours.
+It also nicely works with rye, emmer or einkorn. If you only have a weak flour
+at hand with less gluten this starter might cause issue. As you tend to have
+quite some bacterial activity gluten is going to be broken down fast. When
+using the starter use around 1 to 20 percent starter based on the flour of your
+dough.
+
+Depending on the bacteria cultivated your starter either has a lactic (dairy),
+a vinegary (acetic) or mix of both flavour profile. You can adjust your
+starter's flavour by changing the type to a liquid starter.
+
+\section{Liquid starter}
+
+\begin{figure}[!htb]
+  \centering
+  \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{sourdough-starter-liquid.jpg}
+  \caption{A liquid sourdough starter where the flour separates from the water. Bubbles indicate
+  that is ready to be used.}
+  \label{fig:liquid-sourdough-starter}
+\end{figure}
+
+The liquid starter is made at a hydration of around 500 percent. This means
+the starter has way more water than flour. The additional layer of water on
+top of the flour changes the microbiome of your starter.
+
+By introducing this layer of water less oxygen is available throughout the
+course of fermentation. This means that your starter will no longer be
+producing acetic acid. The heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria will thrive
+in this environment. This is a neat little trick to change your starter's
+flavour profile from vinegary to lactic. Your starter is going to develop
+dairy creamy notes. Interesting when changing the hydration again your starter
+is going to maintain the liquid starter flavor profile, but then benefit again
+from enhanced yeast activity. The liquid starter conversion is non reversible.
+So ideally keep a backup of your starter before.
+
+To commence with the
+conversion simply take around 1 gram of your starter, mix with 5g flour and
+25g water. Stir everything together properly. After a few minutes the flour is
+going to start settling in at the bottom of your jar. Repeat this process over
+a few days. Shake the starter gently to see if you can see tiny CO2 bubbles
+moving in the liquid. This is a good sign that your starter is ready. Use your
+nose to smell the starter. It should have a creamy dairy flavor note.
+
+As you have more bacterial activity this starter works best with a very strong
+flour that can withstand a long fermentation period. Using this starter with a
+weak wheat flour will not work. If you do not care about baking a free
+standing loaf then you can easily use this starter together with a loaf pan.
+This starter also works great when making a hearty pancake dough. To use it I
+shake the starter container until I see all ingredients are homogenized. Then
+I use around 5 percent of it in terms of baker's math. So for 1000g of flour
+that's around 50 grams of liquid starter. As it is very liquid you have to
+include the 50 grams in your liquid calculation. I typically treat the starter
+directly as liquid in the recipes. So if the recipe calls for 600 grams of water
+and I use 50 grams of starter, then I would proceed and only use 550 grams of
+water.
+
+This type of starter is also an excellent mold combatant. As you are removing
+oxygen from the equation aerobic mold can not properly grow. If your starter
+has a mold problem then the liquid conversion could be the remedy. Take a
+piece of your starter where you suspect no mold growth. Apply the conversion
+as mentioned before. The mold will likely sporulate as it runs out of food.
+With each new feeding you are reducing the mold spores. The spores can no
+longe reactivate as they can not do so in the anaerobic conditions.
+
+The liquid on top of your starter is an excellent resource that you could use
+to make sauces. If you feel you would like to add a little bit of acidity,
+drain the liquid part on your starter and use it. I have used it numerous
+times to make lactofermented hot sauces.
+
+\section{Stiff starter}
+
+\begin{figure}[!htb]
+  \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{sourdough-starter-stiff.jpg}
+  \caption{A stiff sourdough starter that I used to make a Stollen dough for christmas. Note
+  the bubbles on the edge of the container. The dough does not fall out of the jar.}
+  \label{fig:stiff-sourdough-starter}
+\end{figure}
+
+The stiff starter is the driest of all the starters. It has a hydration of
+around 50 to 60 percent. So for 100 grams of flour you are using around 60 to
+60 grams of water.
+
+In the stiffer environment the yeast thrives more. This means you will have
+more CO2 production and less acid production. In my tests this is a game
+changer especially if you are using weaker gluten flours. The wheat flours in
+my home country Germany tend to be lower in gluten. For wheat to build gluten warm conditions
+are preferred (SOURCE NEEDED). When following recipes from other bakers I
+could never achieve similar results. When following timings my doughs would
+simply collapse and become super sticky. Only when I started to buy more
+expensive wheat flour my results started to change. As not everyone can afford
+these special baking flours and due their limited availability I stumbled upon the
+stiff sourdough starter. I made several tests where I used the same amount of
+starter and flour. I only changed the hydration between all the starters. I
+would then proceed and place a balloon on top of each of the jars. The stiff
+starter jar was clearly inflated the most. On place 2 the regular starter
+followed. On place three the liquid starter followed with way less CO2
+production.
+
+I then proceeded and bought a cheap low cake flour in my nearby supermarket.
+This flour before had caused me massive headache before. I made a sourdough bread
+exactly how I would normally do. I had to reduce the hydration a bit as a low
+gluten flour does not soak up as much water. Then I replaced the starter with
+the stiff starter. The dough felt amazing and was suddenly able to withstand a
+much longer fermentation period. The bread had great oven spring and tasted
+very mild. I am still yet to find a proper explanation why the yeast part of
+the dough is more active. Maybe it is not. It could also be that the bacteria
+is inhibited by the lack of water.
+
+When making the stiff sourdough starter start with using around 50 percent
+water. If you are using a whole wheat flour, or a strong flour consider going
+up to 60 percent. All the ingredients should mix together very well. There
+should be no crumbly flour left. This is a common mistake I have seen when
+people tried to make the stiff starter. Yes it should be dry, but not to a
+point where it is a brick of cement. If you ever made a pasta dough, this is
+exactly the same way how the dough should feel like.
+
+To evaluate whether your stiff starter is ready look for a dome. Also look for
+pockets of air on the edges of your container. Use your nose to smell the
+starter. It should have a mild smell. It also tends to smell way more
+alcoholic than the other starters.
+
+When using the starter use around 1 to 20 percent depending on the ripeness of
+your starter. In summer times I typically use around 10 percent and in winter
+times around 20 percent. This way you can also control the fermentation speed.
+Mixing the starter can be a little bit annoying as it hardly homogenises with
+the rest of the dough. In this case you can try to dissolve the starter in the
+water you are about to use for your dough. This will make mixing a lot easier.
+
+
+\section{Lievito madre or pasta madre}
+
+The Lievito madre also known as pasta madre belongs to the same category as
+the stiff sourdough starter. After conducting hours of research I could not
+find a difference in pasta madre and lievito madre. Both of terms seem to be
+used interchangeably in literature.
+
+In many recipes this starter is made directly
+from dried or fresh fruits. You can make a starter also from leaves from your
+garden. As described before the wild yeast and bacteria consume the glucose
+from the plants leaves. All the options work. When making a starter directly
+from dried fruits you sometimes lack the bacterial part of the fermentation.
+The acidity is very important in order to clean your starter from possible
+pathogens. If you decide to make your starter from fruits make sure it also
+acidifies properly when making a dough. A tool such as a pH meter can be of
+optimal help. Generally the lower the pH the higher the acidity. The acidity
+should be below 4.2 to know that your starter produces sufficient acidity.
+
+Some bakers cleanse the lievito madre in a bath of water. This is supposed to
+remove excess acidity. In my own experiments I have not been able to confirm
+this methodology. The acidity remains the same. The only reason this could
+make sense is if you also tried to boost anaerobic microorganisms. However then the
+starter would need to remain in this environment for quite some time and not just
+a few hours.
+
+Baking with sourdough is simple. It's just flour and water. When seeing a recipe
+from an experienced baker you wonder, wait, that's it? There is nothing more
+to it? I feel that this might be the reason why some bakers have so complicated
+feeding procedures. They resort to several feedings per day at a certain given ratio.
+This makes the baker feel a little more elitist. Of course over time as
+more and more people follow this procedure it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
+The more experienced you become the higher the chances are that a bogus starter
+feeding guide will reward you with beautiful results. The reason however is
+not in the starter routine. The reason is that you better understand the fermentation
+and become better at reading the signs of your dough.
+
+If I had one starter type to choose I would go for the stiff starter. In many cases
+it will provide you with consistent great results with little effort.
+In my experience you can make any yeast based dough and just replace
+the yeast directly with the stiff sourdough starter. You will be able
+to achieve even better results with the stiff starter.
+
+Lastly no matter which starter type you choose, you can control how sour
+you want your dough to be. The longer you push the fermentation the more
+acidity is going to be piled up. The only difference is that for a given
+volume increase the stiff starter will produce the least acidity. So for a
+volume increase of 100 percent, the liquid starter has produced most acidity,
+followed by the regular starter and then the stiff starter. If you wait long
+enough the stiff starter will have produced the same amount of acidity as the
+other starters. But before doing so it also has produced a lot more CO2. If
+you like the sour flavour you have to push your fermentation longer. This also
+means you either need to bake in a loaf pan or have a very strong gluten flour
+that is able to withstand long fermentation times.

book/sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter.tex

@@ -104,7 +104,9 @@ is a little bit of patience. The flour you should
 use to setup your starter is ideally a whole flour.
 You could use whole wheat, whole rye, whole spelt or
 any other flour you have. In fact gluten free flours such
-as rice or corn would also work.
+as rice or corn would also work. Don't worry, you can
+change the flour later. Use whatever whole flour you
+already have at hand.
 
 Your flour is contaminated with millions of microbes. As explained
 before in the chapter about wild yeast and bacteria, these