Can I use my regular starter to make a stiff starter?
Yes, if your starter has a hydration level of 50-60%, it's a stiff starter. This boosts yeast activity, great for longer fermentation and lower gluten flours. Remember, it should feel like pasta dough and stick slightly to the counter.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
The stiff starter is the driest of all the starters. It has a hydration of around 50 % to 60 %. So for 100 g of flour you are using around 50 g to 60 g of water. If you can’t mix flour and water because the mixture is too dry you need to increase the water quantity. This is often the case when using whole-wheat/rye flour to make your starter. The more bran your flour contains, the more water your flour can absorb. The stiff starter should have a comparable consistency to pasta or pizza dough. When mixing the starter there should be no chunks of flour left. Test placing the starter on your kitchen counter. When lifting it should slightly stick to your counter’s surface. This test indicates that you hydrated the flour sufficiently. When the mixture is too dry, the fermentation speed is greatly reduced and the starter will seem inactive. The starter should be much drier than a regular starter, but also not too dry. Refer to Figure 4.5 for a visual example of the starter’s required hydration level.
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