Sourdough bread… requires attention. The easiest approach includes packaged yeast. This results in a hybrid sour blend. In about three minutes, my first loaf of bread with my own carefully brewed starter will come out of the bread maker. Oh, trust me, this is like the fifth bloody attempt and I went back to bread 101. The risks? My aged sourdough starter. Would it rise? I went down the sourdough path years ago. I love sourdough bread. So, if I like it, I want to know all about it.
Hours of net research later, I compiled a notebook of recipes and lore about sourdough. What can I say, the first time I tried it, sourdough has remained my favorite bread. That is a fairly high mark since, I enjoy most types of bread. Sweet quick breads are as close as I get to cake. Both are a decadence that are enjoyed rarely. Back to sourdough.
As a traditionalist, you start with just flour, water and patience. Which is why you never find these directions in most commercial cookbooks and the ones included with, say, bread makers. Those recipes include commercial yeast. This inclusion changes the flavor of the sour. The path I chose involved both paths. Going with packaged yeast does up the odds of success. In the past, I used this method but did not combine it with the knowledge I gained from understanding the sourdough process.
At the time, I followed the commercial directions. Made the starter, waited three days, stored the starter and made the bread. The result was a very mild sourdough bread. In a blind taste test, I would probably call it plain white bread.
Lessons learned? I could follow directions but I needed to learn more about the process. Second, making the starter requires specific steps and conditions. Lastly, learned later, the starter needs to age to develop a distinctive sourdough flavor. So I put it in the bucket list and a <ToDo> or two marked and set out to learn about sourdough.
Why sourdough? Besides the fact that I like the flavor, I mean. Sourdough has a rich history during the Gold Rush, similar to denim jeans. The starter was a way to preserve leavening for bread. Establishing fermentation then maintaining that state allowed the starter to travel. Being passionate about sourdough and living close to San Francisco, I’ve spent a lot of time at Boudins Bakery. However, the best sourdough bread I found was at a little place in California call Pioneer Boulangerie. Seattle Sourdough Company comes close.
Commercial sourdough, outside of the boutique providers, all tastes the same. The difference, commercial yeast. Developing a localized starter is not commercially feasible. It takes too long. Commercialization does that. Reduces individuality down to a common state. Back to sourdough and my current starter. While this batch started out with commercial yeast, the development process has followed the scratch method to develop the flavor.
When I made the starter before, after three days, it was used and stored. That process was safe. Re-use still did not develop additional flavor, however the proofing process was not used. This time around, instead of storing the starter, I’m following the plan to make starter from scratch however, I’ve included commercial yeast.
I’ve made proof batches a few time so far. The latest proof has the flavor profile I’ve been looking for. Developing this profile took a process. First, there were some rules. Traditional sourdough is just flour, water and sugar. It’s all about fermentation. Many recipes called for dairy. Sticking to what you could have in a wagon, dairy was out. Boudins uses a cultivated starter with history. The only way to create a “West Linn Sour” was to follow the lengthy from scratch method. Meanwhile, back to the current batch.
First, I had to develop a sour flavor. I combined the scratch and quick methods. This current batch of starter has been proofed about every three days and stirred twice a day. It took over a week to really get a good sour flavor. After this final proof, it is ready for storage. Now, onto the bread.
There are three aspects I’m trying to achieve. The first is flavor. Second is the density and last is the crust. In my latest batch, the flavor is there. The slice is dense and the crust is too thick. To create this batch, I reduced the variables down to the recommended process using the bread maker to handle everything. Why use the bread maker and a standard recipe? This sets the base line for the bread quality and establishes the flavor profile.
The result? Still way too dense for me but the flavor is there. The crust was too thick and the bread slice was heavy (dense). Bagged the bread in plastic and the crust softened to a reasonable state but was still too thick. The next batch requires an eight hour proof then a lengthy rise time. This pass will use traditional kneading and an extended final rise.
So it is time to proof the starter so I can make the bread in the morning. Sourdough starter is just the beginning…