From f9b3bd4ed0f8171100ed35164c6a4522cd3e61e0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hendrik Kleinwaechter <hendrik.kleinwaechter@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2023 23:03:41 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Stiff/liquid starter FAQ (#50)

---
 .../sourdough-starter-types.tex               |  1 +
 book/troubleshooting/misc.tex                 | 43 ++++++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/book/sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter-types.tex b/book/sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter-types.tex
index cc08650..4d38383 100644
--- a/book/sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter-types.tex
+++ b/book/sourdough-starter/sourdough-starter-types.tex
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ 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}
+\label{section:liquid-starter}
 
 \begin{figure}[!htb]
   \centering
diff --git a/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex b/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex
index cfe2e0d..7b1a478 100644
--- a/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex
+++ b/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex
@@ -564,4 +564,45 @@ The autolysis only makes sense when you might
 bake a fast fermenting yeast-based dough with a
 high yeast inoculation rate. But even in that
 case you could just lower the amount of yeast
-to fermentolyse rather than autolyse.
\ No newline at end of file
+to fermentolyse rather than autolyse.
+
+\section{What's the benefit of using a stiff sourdough starter?}
+
+A regular sourdough starter has equal parts of
+flour and water (100 percent hydration). A stiffer
+sourdough starter features a hydration level of 50 to 60 percent.
+
+The stiff sourdough starter boosts the yeast part
+of your starter more. This way your gluten degrades
+slower and you can ferment for a longer period. This
+is especially handy when baking with lower gluten flours.
+
+You can read more about the topic of stiff sourdough
+starters in section \ref{section:stiff-starter}.
+
+\section{What's the benefit of using a liquid sourdough starter?}
+
+The liquid starter will boost anaerobic bacterial
+fermentation in your starter. This way your starter
+tends to produce more lactic acid rather than acetic
+acid. Lactic acid is perceived as milder and more
+yogurty. Acetic acid can sometimes taste quite
+pungent.  Acetic acid can be perfect when making 
+dark rye bread but not so much when making a fluffy
+ciabatta-style loaf.
+
+When converting your starter to a liquid starter you are
+permanently altering the microbiome of your starter.
+You can not go back once you eliminated acetic
+acid-producing bacteria. So it is recommended to keep
+a backup of your original starter.
+
+A downside to the liquid starter is the overall
+enhanced bacterial activity. This means the baked bread
+will have more acidity (but milder). The dough will degrade
+faster during fermentation. For this reason, you
+will need to use strong high gluten flour when using
+this type of starter.
+
+You can read more about the liquid starter
+in section \ref{section:liquid-starter}
\ No newline at end of file