Simple Bread

[Octave]

Perhaps this belongs in the sourdough thread, but I've a question for those in the know.

This weekend I helped a friend build up his first bike, and in return he gave me a little tub of his father's sourdough culture that has been going for about 40 years. His father is from Ardèche (and started/maintained the culture there) which is about 250km and 600m^ from where I live, so while not across the globe it is certainly a different environment. Is there any way to keep the characteristics of his original culture going now that it will be living in a different environment? Or should I just accept that the joy of sharing something like this is the evolution? We made some bread while we built the bike and it's out of this world delicious, so I want to retain whatever characteristics of the culture I can.. I'll be feeding it the same T120 flour it is used to eating, but the air and water will obviously be different.

[dgaddis]

Perhaps this belongs in the sourdough thread, but I've a question for those in the know.

This weekend I helped a friend build up his first bike, and in return he gave me a little tub of his father's sourdough culture that has been going for about 40 years. His father is from Ardèche (and started/maintained the culture there) which is about 250km and 600m^ from where I live, so while not across the globe it is certainly a different environment. Is there any way to keep the characteristics of his original culture going now that it will be living in a different environment? Or should I just accept that the joy of sharing something like this is the evolution? We made some bread while we built the bike and it's out of this world delicious, so I want to retain whatever characteristics of the culture I can.. I'll be feeding it the same T120 flour it is used to eating, but the air and water will obviously be different.

From what I've read there's differing opinions on this. Some say what starts it has an everlasting impact on it, others say it will adapt to what it's fed. I tend to think it'll adapt to what it's fed. The yeast that thrive in/on one type of flour are not the same as those that thrive on another. That makes sense to me.

I could very well be wrong.

[rwsaunders]

I've also read that as the starter yeast draws it's bacteria from the air around it, the region and its environment has just as much an impact on its taste, as does the flour and baking conditions...i.e. why San Francisco sourdough can taste different from Boston sourdough. Here's a commercial website that has some good reading material on the subject.

Cheat Sheet for Sourdough Cultures | Sourdoughs International

[Octave]

Indeed - I've read that the air is a major contributing factor, hence why you can start a sourdough culture at home by just leaving water/flour exposed to air. The question is really about an already established culture being fed the same flour, but new water/air and whether or not this is going to cause drastic changes. I'll update as things move along..

[dgaddis]

And I've read that that the air isn't a big deal, it's more the flour.

I know when I started my starter I kept a lid on it all the time unless I was feeding it. It wasn't an air-tight lid though.

[rwsaunders]

I found this on the King Arthur site...

Q. How can I make my starter have a stronger flavor? Why doesn't the loaf taste like the tangy sourdough I had in California?

A. The flavor of your bread is more dependent on your bread recipe than the flavor of your starter. Simply put, the longer your bread rises (up to a point), the richer its flavor will be. And, the temperature at which your loaf rises makes a difference. The wild yeast in sourdough produces both acetic and lactic acids as it consumes the starch and sugars in bread dough. When the dough is refrigerated, the yeast tends to produce more acetic acid than lactic acid. Since acetic acid is quite sour (think vinegar), bread dough that rises in the refrigerator overnight will tend to produce a more sour loaf than dough that rises for several hours at room temperature.

Why doesn't your bread taste like San Francisco (or New York, or Key West) sourdough? Because there are so many variations—in starters, weather, the microclimate in which you're baking, and the recipe you're using—that it's nearly impossible to duplicate exactly someone else's sourdough bread. Your best bet is to follow a recipe, and discover what you can do with YOUR starter, in YOUR kitchen.

[bking]

It's for this ^^^^ that there are so few good bakers, and even fewer good bakeries. EVERYTHING is part of the recipe when it comes to baking.

[dgaddis]

I love cooking BBQ, cooking for a small group of friends/family is easy and I really enjoy it. The biggest crowd I've cooked for was about 50 or 60 people - that was pretty stressful. A lot of BBQ fanatics are like cycling fanatics, they want to open their own business. NOT ME. I can't imagine trying to run a BBQ restaurant. A bakery? EFF THAT.

Making great BBQ is a lot easier than baking great bread. They're both similar in that you can really nerd out on them and dive into the science...but I feel like there's a lot more variables in bread baking, and those variables are harder to measure, it relies a lot more on using your senses (touch and smell).

[rwsaunders]

I experimented with a white poppyseed topping on one loaf and a 25/75 mix of graham flour/white flour on the other loaf...taste report to follow. One loaf will have to make it through TSA precheck tomorrow as it will be delivered to my daughter while I am in Seattle.

[rwsaunders]

Mrs. RW sent me a cross section of the poppyseed version with a slice covered with her homemade curry egg salad. This is a petty quick and light bread only requiring two 1-2 hour proofs. Personally, I'm a sourdough lover but my family is into the lighter breads. I'm slowly increasing the grain mix on them.

[Too Tall]

Following what you do R.W. Same here. Mrs. TT wants more grains.

[rwsaunders]

This video might motivate some to invite bread into their lives, or at least for those of us that are hooked, serve to explain to your SO why you absolutely love to bake bread.

[Too Tall]

Ahhhh that is a peaceful journey / peek into a world someone else finds lovely and comfortable.

Yep, that's me sometimes.

Thanks R.W. Good stuff.

[dgaddis]

Agree, that's eerily familiar haha.

Fed my starter last night, hopefully find time to bake a loaf this weekend or Monday morning.

[Too Tall]

Just back from a Trader Joe's run and picked up a bag of their AP soooooo you know what comes next. Back to the first script for a couple simple Boule'

[rwsaunders]

I watched the highlights from La Flèche Wallonne on my iPad while i dabbled in the kitchen last evening...always dangerous. Starter, meet water...water meet starter and get ready to meet flour...so now there's a ball of dough proofing as we speak, waiting to be transformed into a boule.

[rwsaunders]

I'll post some lunch photos later...smells good.

[Too Tall]

Great looking loaf R.W.

No pics, the hungry hoard is to blame. Had a few folks over for grilled this and thats. I timed a loaf of bread to be ready at dinner time. The act of baking a fresh loaf to go with dinner...I get it. What a lovely thing.

I'm going to stick with success and keep making the orig. recipe that worked the first time until I've got it in my soul than I'll diverge. Baking is not something that comes naturally for myself.

[dgaddis]

My starter apparently needs some TLC. Fed it this weekend and it only rose ~50% or so, instead of doubling like normal. Gonna give a few regular feeds and then bake up a loaf.

[dgaddis]

Just gonna post this here. Seen it on the Book o' Faces right here.