Sourdough
My lurking neighbor persuaded me to take some of the natural starter she began developing from local airborne yeast several years back. I've been experimenting with loaves this week and have managed today to produce a loaf with good strong sour flavor and a decent rise and crumb. The crust is outstanding.
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8 comments:
Artist!
Greg
Nice. That's a strong starter.
Looks yummy.
Alas, our local yeasts don't make a good sourdough. And raccoons ate the heirloom starter just before we moved south. (MomRed was making dough and forgot to start it early. She looked out and two trash pandas were helping themselves to the bowl. That was the end of the starter.)
LittleRed1
We learned long ago not to try to set the starter out on the porch: it doesn't stand a chance.
I tried starting a culture from the air some time back and got nowhere. My neighbor, however, persevered over a period of years and has a really tasty culture now. I've never learned anything about which areas have suitable airborne yeast varieties. Is there really that much variation?
Here is a lot of discussion about where wild yeasts really come from. Some believe exposure to the air is key, while others maintain the source is the grain, hence the emphasis on choosing a starter flour that hasn't been sterilized one way or another. https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/37259/mythbusters-grain-yeast-or-air-yeast
Interesting sources of wild yeast, mostly aimed at brewers/vintners rather than bakers: https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/finding-yeast-in-the-wild-ze0z1804zmos/
Supposedly, the West Coast (San Francisco, Oakland, Anchorage) had excellent wild bread yeasts back in the day. Also supposedly, when the San Francisco Health Department started doing regular inspections of bakeries, sourdough quality went into a sharp temporary decline*. Make of it what you will. ;)
LittleRed1
*Based on true stories about EU and Irish regulators vs. cheese makers, I'm inclined to believe that there's a little truth to the tale.
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