Hello. I'm a long time listener, first time caller.
A short bit about me:-
I have been successfully brewing beer for no less than two years and comfortably baking 'standard' bread and other yeasty goodies for 5 years or more using dehydrated yeast in a bread machine and also by hand. I have been looking for a way to prove myself [sic] and have considered that I can say I've mastered yeast cookery/bakery only once I've mastered sourdough.
The doughy bit:-
Over the last week I've attempted, and appear to have been sucessful with, my first sourdough starter and subsequetly today I've attempted my first sourdough/'naturally levened' loaf. The starter is 50% wholemeal and 50% white flour (the often frowned upon econo style plain white, bleach and all). I've also made my first loaves from the same flour ratios. I chose these particular ratios and flours as they are what I usually bake with.
My question and point:-
I have known a sourdough baker with whom I seem to have lost contact. I recall this baker coveted a 96 hour sourdough loaf and indicated that it is a good indicator as to how good a sourdough baker is. My understanding is that the dough was fermented for 96 hours before baking. I tried searching for a recipe on this website and through a search engine and have not found anything close to what I'm after. Is the 96 hours solely spent on the first steps eg; just after combining leven and flour+water or is there some other technique? Can anyone help me with a technique for such a loaf?
Thanks.
Replies
The flavour development should be impressive. The risk would be overproofing, from which there is no return.
The obvious starting points would be low hydration and cool temperatures - and I would imagine a very small % of starter. Or perhaps a pre-ferment would be used - that would avoid the overproofing problem?
Hmmm, Teresa from Northwest Sourdough (http://www.northwestsourdough.com) has a section in her (free) bread book #3 (which can be downloaded from her website) about motherdoughs. This is a dough which is anything from 50% to 80% hydration which is kept permanently in the fridge. It needs to cold ferment from 2 to 5 days before it needs to be used or fed and when baking it must have been fermenting at least two days from the last feed. It is mixed with a normal 166% hydration starter and the breadmaking process is then normal.
I have been experimenting with this motherdough for a couple of weeks (although I convert the recipes back to using a 100% starter rather than 166%) and I have to say that the motherdough introduces a real depth and complexity of flavour which you don't get from a more "normal" process.
I wonder if this is what the 96 hour sourdough is all about?
I don't have my copy with me at the moment, but I seem to recall something similar in The Natural Tucker Bread Book by John Downes.
Somebody else might be able to confirm or deny.
Farinam