Sourdoughing

It has been ages since I've been inspired to dive into the fermented goodness that is sourdough.  My excuses ranged from "it just takes SO long" to "I cannot keep refreshing my starter - it is too expensive to go through all of that flour and I am broke" and "there are lots of people that do it WAY better than me and I'll just buy that pretty loaf over there".

But it turns out that making your own bread is just so much goddamn fun that I couldn't help but get back in the game.  An avid baker friend of mine assured me that you really really really do not need to keep feeding your Ferment every couple of days like the books say.  Just keep it in the fridge and scrape away that top layer of nasty and you're good to go.

Sorry, let's back up here.  I'm not going to give you a recipe for making your own sourdough - there are plenty of experts out there that have written books about it and have it nailed down.  This is merely a small piece in the breadosphere to hopefully give you enough confidence to seek out said experts' recipes and try this for yourself.

The essentials: 

How it works.  The basic principal of sourdough is that unlike most breads, you're not going to add commercial yeast.  Instead, you create a "Starter" of just water and flour (and sometimes honey), which when left in the right environment for long enough will start to ferment.  It draws naturally occurring yeasts from the air, starting to bubble and stink after a few days.  Yeast + sugar = CO2, which makes your bread rise.  Science!  After a couple of days, your Starter should be all sorts of pungent and fermenty and somewhat disturbing.  Now is the time to make your Ferment (often called Leaven).  This is just a mixture of flour and water and some of your Starter.  Leave this in and out of the fridge to develop more depth of flavor for a few more days.  When ready, finally time to make your dough.  Mix some of the Ferment with more flour and water and salt and kneed kneed kneed and rest and kneed and let it proof (rise) until it is springy to the touch and nearly doubled in size.  Turn out (carefully) onto a hot tray, slash the top, pop in the oven.  It is ready when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.  Wait wait wait until it is cool to slice.  You just gotta.  Trust.

Vocabulary lesson!  There are SO many words thrown around when it comes to making sourdough.  Don't fret, they pretty much all mean the same thing.

• Flour - you got this one.  
• Starter/Sponge/Ferment/Leaven/Mother/Etc. etc. etc - these all mean some combination of flour+water+natural yeasts.  It all depends on who you're talking to as to which words they use for which stage of the process.  Just go with it.  
• Fermenting - the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions.  That is official.    
• Proof/Proofing - why it was essential to assign another word when rise/rising ALREADY exists for this exact purpose I just don't know but it is fun to say.
• Kneed/Working the dough - youtube that shit and put some elbow grease into it.  Sweat it out, making bread isn't for wimps.
• Refresh - this is the term used for kickstarting your Starter.  It lives in the fridge and remains dormant (too cold and fermentation cannot happen).  In order to get it going again, you need to refresh it by adding more flour and water for the yeasts to feed off of.  

And the tools:

• A kitchen scale - this is absolutely necessary when baking.  I cannot stress this enough.  They are not that expensive and do not take up that much room.  And for christ's sake get a digital one.  (Side note - mine is totally hating me right now because I often leave it on a wet counter and the battery doesn't do well when even slightly damp, so don't do that.)

• The right flours.  Bread Flour (or Strong Flour) has a higher gluten content and better for rising.  Do not attempt this with All-Purpose Flour, it just won't be as good.  Other flours are usually called for (probably not ESSENTIAL, but will improve your loaf) - Spelt and Rye Flour seem to work really well and add a lovely depth and flavor.  I'm sure you could play around with other unusual flours, but I suspect the best results will come from flours with gluten (no Rice Flour here).  

• Dough scraper.  For mixing, cleaning, and you know, scraping.  Wonderful, under appreciated kitchen tool.  Mine is just a plastic piece, but there are much prettier and more effective ones out there.  Also really useful when making pastries/cookies/anything involving dough that needs scraping.

• Water that isn't too hot nor too cold.  Too hot and you'll kill your yeast.  Too cold and nothing ferments.  It should be just above luke warm.  If you have a thermometer, bless you and you're going to be just fine.  If you don't, wing it - you're going to be just fine. 

• Patience!  This single loaf took me TWO goddamn weeks from ferment to oven, but the anticipation is totally worth it.  Pulling out that beautifully risen, golden brown, beloved loaf is one of life's grand rewards.  Bakers get it.  Work slowly.  Fermentation takes time.  Flavors need to develop.  Science! This is not slap dash; this is calculated and time consuming, but don't we all deserve a few minutes to dedicate to the art of sourdoughing?  You're making bread, how cool is that?  

• Practice!  Some loaves are going to be weird.  Figure out why by doing this over and over again.  People keep their starters for years, making sourdough for generations.  This is a lifestyle.

As far as my favorite EXPERTS in this game with amazing books, check out Tartine's Chad Robertson and my favorite, Crust's Richard Bertinet.  I've met Richard Bertinet and watched him bake - he's extremely talented and an excellent teacher.  And British, which is delightful.

Get going guys, you can do this!