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posted by chromas on Tuesday November 20 2018, @10:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the kitcheneering dept.

Eater has a longer article on how sourdough, and bread in general, is back in fashion and the changes being inflicted on the millenias-old staple by tech bros.

“I spent a lot of time — I don’t want to say ‘debugging,’ because that sounds really technical — but just working on recipes and trying to teach myself and there really weren’t a lot of materials out there at the time to do that,” he told me by phone this spring. “With bread baking, you kind of follow an algorithm to produce a result and that result isn’t always what you think it’s going to be, so you kind of have to step back and debug and diagnose the steps along the way. How did I go wrong here? That’s because technically the temperature might not be right or the dough strength might not be right. That iterative procedure and working through those algorithms kind of appeals to engineer. There’s the precision part of it, but also, when it comes down to it, technical people like to work with their hands. You want to construct something and I think bread is a good way to do that.”


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday November 21 2018, @01:30AM (4 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday November 21 2018, @01:30AM (#764511)

    Sourdough bread is not really that hard to make. The trick is creating a starter, or getting a bit of someone else's.

    It is really just wild yeast and bacteria feeding on flour.

    I understand that's why it tastes different in different places.

    Here's a Howto which looks OK. [culturesforhealth.com]

    Don't give up if it starts to smell like your roommate has left her running shoes in there, that's normal, and it will come right.
     

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  • (Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Wednesday November 21 2018, @02:29AM

    by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Wednesday November 21 2018, @02:29AM (#764535)

    I've never done a wild culture, but I bought a sourdough yeast from breadtopia (no affiliation) that I've had for years.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday November 21 2018, @02:48AM (2 children)

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Wednesday November 21 2018, @02:48AM (#764546) Journal

    That recipe for a starter isn't bad. I'd just add that you shouldn't believe it too much when it says you'll see bubbles and activity after 12-24 hours. You will, but it isn't the RIGHT microorganisms. It's well-known in food science research on this stuff that you get an initial burst of activity from the wrong sort of bacteria, which actually output a lot of gas and acidic waste products -- and the acidic environment that follows is what allows the establishment of the proper Lactobacillus you want. Actual yeast growth and establishment will likely follow in a few days, depending on feeding schedule, type of flour, and proportions of feeding.

    The reason I mention this is because a lot of people get discouraged after a couple days. They see a huge burst of bubbles on the second day, and they think their starter is working. But it's not. It's almost always just bad bacteria flourishing temporarily. Keep feeding (every 12 hours if possible). Whole grain flours (particularly relatively fresh) work best; rye seems particularly good for getting starters going. With less good flour as a source for yeast and food, you might need a week or more to establish a starter.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @03:25AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @03:25AM (#764562)

      Salt will encourage Lactobacillus. When culturing lactic acid from beets, adding salt is the only way to consistently get the brew to go to lactic acid.

      Rye is excellent (best grain in my exp.) for brewing lactic acid-- might explain your good luck in using it for sourdough starter. Sprout the grain in a canning jar. After sprouting fill jar with water and stick in a dark place for a few days (keep from extreme heat/cold). Never failed to get lactic acid, from rye, and without adding any salt.

      I use the lactic acid in making home made veggie cheeses.

    • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday November 21 2018, @08:36PM

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday November 21 2018, @08:36PM (#764938)

      Thanks for the quality post.

      I felt sure someone with more knowledge about this would pop up. I mentioned the "bad socks" smell in my comment because I was assuming that's the period before the good stuff starts happening.

      The last time I made a starter, it took about 3 weeks to get something pleasant smelling. I may have used standard white flour to kick it off. I will go with rye next time.