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There is a lot of confusion about what sourdough bread is. Is it bread with a sour taste? Do they only make it in San Francisco? What makes it so different?
Sourdough bread is bread that is leavened using a sourdough culture containing wild yeasts and bacteria. The yeast that can be bought in small packages and jars at the store is commercial yeast . It is one strain of yeast, raised because it is really great for making bread quickly consistently. A sourdough culture will probably contain many different strains of yeast, and several types of bacteria. While an envelope of commercial yeast is innumerable copies of one organism, a sourdough culture is a diverse ecosystem. Because of this, sourdough breads have a more complex flavor and texture than breads made with commercially available yeast.
So where does the "sour" part of sourdough come from? While yeast produce carbon dioxide and alcohol, the bacteria in a sourdough culture produce lactic acid. This give some sourdough breads their distinctive tangy taste. The increased acidity and other compounds produced by the bacteria make sourdough breads more resistant to mold and staling than other artisan breads.
Although these bacteria can make the bread tangy, not all sourdough is noticeably tangy. It depends on what bacteria are in the culture being used. However, there are methods that can create the sour flavor that some people enjoy in their bread.
Making true sourdough bread is more difficult, and more time consuming than using instant yeast. That having been said; sourdough creates loaves of bread that have a flavor that can't be matched by breads made using commercial yeast.
It is a common misconception that sourdough bread can be produced using a commercial yeast that is allowed to develop in a batter overnight. This is called a preferment, poolish , or biga . This technique can make really great breads, but it isn't true sourdough and tastes very different. Here I present sourdough bread and describe the techniques used to create it.
Sourdough bread is bread that is leavened using a sourdough culture containing wild yeasts and bacteria. The yeast that can be bought in small packages and jars at the store is commercial yeast . It is one strain of yeast, raised because it is really great for making bread quickly consistently. A sourdough culture will probably contain many different strains of yeast, and several types of bacteria. While an envelope of commercial yeast is innumerable copies of one organism, a sourdough culture is a diverse ecosystem. Because of this, sourdough breads have a more complex flavor and texture than breads made with commercially available yeast.
So where does the "sour" part of sourdough come from? While yeast produce carbon dioxide and alcohol, the bacteria in a sourdough culture produce lactic acid. This give some sourdough breads their distinctive tangy taste. The increased acidity and other compounds produced by the bacteria make sourdough breads more resistant to mold and staling than other artisan breads.
Although these bacteria can make the bread tangy, not all sourdough is noticeably tangy. It depends on what bacteria are in the culture being used. However, there are methods that can create the sour flavor that some people enjoy in their bread.
Making true sourdough bread is more difficult, and more time consuming than using instant yeast. That having been said; sourdough creates loaves of bread that have a flavor that can't be matched by breads made using commercial yeast.
It is a common misconception that sourdough bread can be produced using a commercial yeast that is allowed to develop in a batter overnight. This is called a preferment, poolish , or biga . This technique can make really great breads, but it isn't true sourdough and tastes very different. Here I present sourdough bread and describe the techniques used to create it.
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Signing UpStep 1Assemble Ingredients
First, assemble the ingredients.
A real sourdough loaf is surprisingly simple ingredient-wise. The quality comes from the technique. Of course, having good quality ingredients will help too.
Ingredients
Unbleached Bread Flour
Rye Flour
Water
Salt
Rye Starter
Flours
Bread Flour - This flour is different from regular all-purpose flour in two ways. The first is that it is milled from different wheat, often harvested at a different time of the year. This wheat contains more of the compounds that will form gluten in your bread. Gluten is what makes dough stretchy and bread chewy. The second way bread flour is different is it often contains malt powder. This encourages yeast growth. Not all bread flour will contain this but most commercially-available bread flours in North America have it.
Rye Flour - This is a whole grain flour. It adds complex flavor to breads and is used to feed the starter in this recipe. Rye flour will not form gluten on its own. The more rye flour is in a bread, the more difficult it will be to form gluten while kneading.
Whole Wheat Flour-Not mentioned on the list. It is strictly optional. This is a whole grain, more flavorful flour. Some people find it bitter. Usually when I am making this bread about two cups of what I have listed here are whole wheat flour, I enjoy the flavor. It absorbs water more slowly than white flour.
I recommend practicing the recipe a few times with mostly white flour and then incorporating more whole wheat or rye flour into the recipe.
Water
A lot of people say it is important to use spring water or filtered water or some other water, that chlorinated water will kill your yeast. I use tap water (yes it's lightly chlorinated) as do most great bakeries I know to no ill effect. If your tap water smells like a swimming pool it is probably better to use spring water or filtered water. I've never had a problem with it.
Salt
Salt is extremely important in bread. Do not omit salt based on the reasoning that it will be healthier. Not that much salt goes into bread. Salt balances the flavor of bread very nicely, if you don't add it your bread will taste strange. Salt also helps in regulating yeast growth. If you don't use salt the yeast may develop inconsistently.
As for what type of salt, I use plain free-flowing salt. Sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt; all fine-it won't make a difference in how your bread tastes. I would save the good salt for some other application. If you do use some other type of salt, be aware that 1 Tablespoon of plain salt does not equal 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt. The larger grains change the volume. If you are going to play around with salt types use a scale to make sure it is the same amount.
Rye Starter
This contains nothing but rye flour and water. This is all wild yeast, no stuff from the jar/packet. Don't ever add salt, sugar, pineapple juice, or anything else but flour and water to this. If you wanted, you could easily use your wheat starter for this recipe; it should work but the fermentation times may be slightly different based upon the starter you use.
A real sourdough loaf is surprisingly simple ingredient-wise. The quality comes from the technique. Of course, having good quality ingredients will help too.
Ingredients
Unbleached Bread Flour
Rye Flour
Water
Salt
Rye Starter
Flours
Bread Flour - This flour is different from regular all-purpose flour in two ways. The first is that it is milled from different wheat, often harvested at a different time of the year. This wheat contains more of the compounds that will form gluten in your bread. Gluten is what makes dough stretchy and bread chewy. The second way bread flour is different is it often contains malt powder. This encourages yeast growth. Not all bread flour will contain this but most commercially-available bread flours in North America have it.
Rye Flour - This is a whole grain flour. It adds complex flavor to breads and is used to feed the starter in this recipe. Rye flour will not form gluten on its own. The more rye flour is in a bread, the more difficult it will be to form gluten while kneading.
Whole Wheat Flour-Not mentioned on the list. It is strictly optional. This is a whole grain, more flavorful flour. Some people find it bitter. Usually when I am making this bread about two cups of what I have listed here are whole wheat flour, I enjoy the flavor. It absorbs water more slowly than white flour.
I recommend practicing the recipe a few times with mostly white flour and then incorporating more whole wheat or rye flour into the recipe.
Water
A lot of people say it is important to use spring water or filtered water or some other water, that chlorinated water will kill your yeast. I use tap water (yes it's lightly chlorinated) as do most great bakeries I know to no ill effect. If your tap water smells like a swimming pool it is probably better to use spring water or filtered water. I've never had a problem with it.
Salt
Salt is extremely important in bread. Do not omit salt based on the reasoning that it will be healthier. Not that much salt goes into bread. Salt balances the flavor of bread very nicely, if you don't add it your bread will taste strange. Salt also helps in regulating yeast growth. If you don't use salt the yeast may develop inconsistently.
As for what type of salt, I use plain free-flowing salt. Sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt; all fine-it won't make a difference in how your bread tastes. I would save the good salt for some other application. If you do use some other type of salt, be aware that 1 Tablespoon of plain salt does not equal 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt. The larger grains change the volume. If you are going to play around with salt types use a scale to make sure it is the same amount.
Rye Starter
This contains nothing but rye flour and water. This is all wild yeast, no stuff from the jar/packet. Don't ever add salt, sugar, pineapple juice, or anything else but flour and water to this. If you wanted, you could easily use your wheat starter for this recipe; it should work but the fermentation times may be slightly different based upon the starter you use.
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I see the ingredients but i don't see their respective amounts!!
Can you please tell us how much of each ingredient we need to add?!!
Thanks,
Mike :)
There are various reasons that your dough might become too runny. One reason is that flours, depending on brand, type, age, and how it was harvested have different moisture levels. I have had the experience of getting used to using a "dry" flour only to have things suddenly turn very wet when I buy new flour.
Sometimes a runny dough is also caused by poor gluten development. Here are some ways that you might get your bread to have more structure:
Autolyse. Give your bread a 15 minute period after mixing and a few kneads to absorb water and develop gluten before you start kneading. This will make your dough firmer.
Knead. You might just need to develop more gluten, if you knead your bread for eight minutes try kneading it for 15. The more elastic your dough becomes, the better structure it will have.
Also, your shaping technique might be an issue. If a loaf is shaped loosely it will spread out quite a bit. With the proper shaping technique, you will have sealed the seam well and created a lot of surface tension on the outside of the dough. When I first made bread it would usually spread out quite a bit, once I learned how to shape more tightly I have noticed there is very little spreading.
I used to keep both a whole wheat and a rye starter and I never noticed too many differences between them. The more rye you use, the less gluten you will have which also effects structure. So using whole wheat shouldn't have caused any trouble. Although now that I think about it, some of the coarser whole wheat flours have large particles in them that can interrupt gluten strands and reduce dough elasticity, because the strands of gluten can't get as long. If you have access to King Arthur brand White Whole Wheat flour I have noticed that it is milled quite finely, this could make things easier.
It also sounds like you know what you're doing when it comes to hydration and kneading.
So perhaps next time you could try shaping it a bit differently. Make sure there is a lot of surface tension in the dough, and seal the seam VERY well, making sure to place the loaf seam-side-down.
Good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvdtUR-XTG0
it is very useful for very wet dough so as to decrease excess flour additions this is actually what i used when i made a 80% hydration dough its really good so try it!
So how is your baking going these days?
It says that Le Boudin's starter, started and kept alive since 1850 has a species of Lactobacillis, unlike any other previously characterized, and hence named L. sanfrancensis by a UC Davis microbiologist who analyzed the starter.
They recommend, for people living anywhere who want to get a reliable starter, to mix 3 tbspns of live-culture (gelatin-free) plain yogurt, a cup of non-fat or low-fat milk, and a cup of flour. Keep at 80-90 degrees in a sealed bowl. I use an incandescent lamp, positioned above the bowl to maintain temp.
They say 2-5 days, develops bubbles, and clear liquid on top, indicating acidification and coagulation of milk proteins. The milk contains lactose, which the bacteria convert first to lactic acid, and then the lactic acid to acetic acid.
I like tangy bread, so I let mine go (with periodic stirring) for 7 days. Waay more sour than the original yogurt!
Harold McGee also gives passing reference to bacteria. It's not just yeast that is at work here for true sourdough.
Anyway, then the recipe calls for mixing in flour, salt, sugar and regular active-dry yeast, to get your rise. It calls for 15 minutes of kneading, then 2-3 hours of proofing, one punchdown, a short re-rise, and 350 degree baking for 35 minutes, with some water spraying a few times to get a thick crunchy crust. (I prefer 500 on a preheated bakestone for 10 minutes.)
The Lactobacillis, fed on a lactose substrate that it can acidify makes a SF-sourdough-quality tang. It's a recipe worth giving a try, and playing with to suit your tastes.
If you are a cookbook collector Sunset Cookbook is a beauty. If you want to try West Coast cuisine, it has great stories, and awesome recipes from fine restaurant chefs to home-cook inventions.
Here is the link to WWW flour if you are not familiar with it. Most main stream groceries should carry it as well quite a few health food type stores.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-white-whole-wheat-flour-5-lb
It is definitely a good way to ease people into more strongly flavored breads. Much of the flavor of whole wheat but with none of the bitterness.
I'm probably going to make another instructable for making your own rye starter. It is quite simple! The starter is a reservoir for the bacteria and yeast that create the flavor and the gas that helps the bread rise.
Everyone has their own technique. My technique is to keep it in the refrigerator if I am not using it and feed it at least once a week (I let it sit at room temperature for a few hours after feeding it). If you are leaving it at room temperature you need to feed it every 24-48 hours. To feed it, just throw out half and add in more flour and water.
The amounts are very simple, 1/3 cup of rye flour & 1/3 cup of water.
If you want to create your own starter it will take awhile, but I made mine from just mixing rye flour and water together and then feeding it. I will make a short instructable for making your own within the next week or so.
If you don't want to wait the 2-3 weeks it takes to make your own, you can try to find a friend who has a sourdough culture. Just give it a double feeding and have the friend give you the extra. Then you keep feeding that and it's your own little sourdough culture, no need to buy yeast at the store anymore!