Well That Didn't Take Long!

When I created my first sourdough culture, two years ago, it was a drawn out and somewhat frustrating experience.  I made the mistake of using a very small amount of bleached all purpose flour, with a lot of water, in a bowl.  Days passed without anything happening.  Following advice that I'd found somewhere, I started exchanging half the volume of the mixture every day.  More days passed, and still nothing happened.  Then I came across some new advice:  Add some whole grain flour, make a thicker mixture, and leave it alone until something happens!  That did the trick.  Within a day I started to see activity, which was eventually coaxed into the starter that I've been using since then.

Yesterday I began building the culture that will form the basis of my new starter.  The instructions in Tartine Bread closely align with the method that eventually yielded success two years ago:  the inclusion of whole wheat flour, and a thick mixture.  The book states that something should happen in "2 to 3 days".

Well, here's what I awoke to this morning:

It is alive!  As the yeast begin to multiply, they feed on the protein in the flour in a process called fermentation.  The byproduct of fermentation is carbon dioxide gas, which forms bubbles within the flour/water mixture.  And the expansion of these gas bubbles causes the mixture to expand.  As you can see in the picture above, the mixture has risen approximately a half inch.  Here's the view from the top:

You can see that a few of the larger gas bubbles have risen to the top.  And looking at the side of the jar, you can see one of the reasons that a clear glass jar is the ideal vessel for this process:

Those small bubbles show you what is going on within the body of the paste.

If you look at the label on the side of the jar, you'll note that it has only been a bit over 18 hours since I started the culture.  Why are things so far ahead of schedule?  There are several answers.

First, it's possible that the inside of the jar had some yeast spores already in it.  When yeast find themselves without food, they go into a dormant phase.  All that is necessary to revive them is the addition of food and water.  Providing them with a couple of cups of flour and water would do the trick.  However, this jar had been washed thoroughly with soap and hot water, so that's not likely to be the reason for the aggressive yeast growth.

Second, the culture that I started yesterday contains fresh whole wheat flour.  Few things contain more yeast than whole grain flours, so it's likely that this culture had a good head start in life.

Finally, the culture was build with bread flour.  Bread flour is all purpose flour that contains more protein than normal all purpose flour.  And yeast love protein!

All of those factors, when combined, add up to success.

The question is whether it is a problem if the growth of the culture is due to "contamination" from yeast spores already present in the jar.  The answer is no.  The goal is to develop a healthy culture of yeast that are compatible with the flours being used in your starter.  Whether those yeast arrived with the flour, or were present in the vessel, as long as they love the food that they are being fed you have achieved your goal.  You don't really need to worry about where the yeast came from.

Many people are proud of their "100 year old San Francisco sourdough starter that great grandfather Zeke brought back from California after the gold rush".  There's something to be said for caring for a starter for 100 years, but it would be a mistake to believe that it's the same starter that left San Francisco all those years ago.  Sourdough starters all contain the same species of yeasts and bacteria, but the strains vary from place to place.  And the factors that control the strains in any given starter are temperature, pH of the starter, and the flours used to feed the starter.  In other words the yeast and bacteria present in the starter that came back from California after the gold rush have long ago been replaced by the strains present in the flour that has been fed to the starter in the meantime.  This process doesn't even take years.  A couple of feedings will do it.

In the case of the culture that I'm building, it's likely that the source of the yeast is the whole wheat flour that I started with yesterday.  But even if it was "contamination", I don't have to worry.  Once fermentation gets underway, the natural yeasts present in flour would win the day.

So what's next?

The culture is still very young.  There is obviously some yeast growth taking place.  But there is also some bacterial growth taking place.  A healthy sourdough starter contains a mixture of yeast and bacteria that exist in a balance that is dictated by the pH (level of acidity) of the starter.  Right now the yeast and the bacteria are locked in a battle to decide who will win.  In the end it will be a stalemate.  But more on that in the next post.

First Steps On The Journey

The first step of any journey is usually the easiest.  This is definitely the case in sourdough bread making.  In this case the first step is the creation of a "culture".  Although it takes some patience, it's not difficult.  If you ever mixed dirt and water as a child, to make mud pies, you already have all of the skills necessary to create a sourdough culture.  Successfully creating a culture then leads to the second step, which is the creation of a starter.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Back to the culinary mud pies.

There is a common myth that sourdough cultures are created by "capturing wild yeast out of the air". This is simply not true.  While there may be some wild yeast spores floating about in the air around you, it would take a very long time to capture enough of them to create a sourdough starter. Fortunately, there is a better way.

Wheat, as it is growing, supports a healthy population of wild yeasts that grow right on the outside of the wheat kernels themselves.  When the wheat is harvested, and milled into flour, some of this wild yeast makes its way all the way through the process into the flour that you purchase.  The less the flour has been been processed, the more yeast makes its way to that bag of flour in your kitchen.  Whole grain flours, such as whole wheat and rye, as well as minimally processed flours such as unbleached all purpose flour, contain the healthiest yeast populations.

The first step in creating a sourdough starter is to create a yeast culture by encouraging the growth and reproduction of the wild yeast in your flour.  The internet is replete with methods for accomplishing this feat.  Many involve mixing flour with water and an acidic liquid such as pineapple juice. However, the most straightforward method is simply to mix flour and water, cover it, and place it in an environment that is comfortable for the yeast. Then you simply wait.  The use of acidic liquids can sometimes speed up the process.  However, they simply aren't necessary.  I can assure you that when bakers in ancient England were making naturally leavened breads, pineapple juice was not part of the process.

Personally I find bread making to be a rather zen experience.  Using nothing more than flour, water, salt, heat and time you can create one of the most desired foods ever created by humanity. Enjoy the experience! If I want bad bread, really fast, I'd go buy it at the store.  But if I want good bread, and want to enjoy the experience of crafting it from the most basic ingredients, I'm not going to rush the experience. My starter will be ready when it is ready.

So this afternoon I began the creation of the yeast culture that will eventually be used to create my new starter.  Here's how it goes:

• In a glass jar, place equal amounts (by weight!) of unbleached bread flour and whole wheat flour

• Add lukewarm water (unchlorinated please), and use your hands to mix the flour and water until all lumps are removed.  You want to end up with something that resembles very thick pancake batter.  Add more or less water until you reach this consistency.

• Scrape down the sides of the jar, then cover loosely.  I use a glass jar with a loose fitting glass lid.  Some people cover their containers with a kitchen towel held in place with a rubber band.  Either method is fine.  You just want to keep dust and other contaminants out, and keep most of the moisture in.

• Place your jar someplace cool and dark.  By "cool" I mean somewhere around the high 60s or low 70s.  

• Now you wait.  

If all goes well, the next step will happen in 2-3 days.  The "next step" is feeding the young culture, so that it can mature into a sourdough starter.  You'll know that it's time for the next step when you note some bubbles forming in the mixture, and it takes on a tangy sour smell that resembles over-ripe cheese. At that point your culture is in the midst of the first of a number of microbial evolutions that will eventually culminate with the establishment of a healthy sourdough starter.  But I'll get to those details when the time comes.  In the meantime, I'll move on to a few pieces of practical advice.

Whenever I'm working with starter (or in this case just a culture), I try to work in a container that has straight sides.  My vessel of choice is a glass "cookie jar" style jar that has a loose fitting glass lid. Using a container with straight sides allows you to easily determine how much a starter has risen.  A clear container allows you to see the gas bubbles, and observe the structure of the starter or dough as it rises.

I've also adopted a practice of labeling the container with wide freezer-style masking tape as seen here.

The label serves a number of purposes.  First, I place the label so that the top of the tape is even with the top of starter.  As the starter rises, I can easily see how far it has risen.  In general, a starter is ready to use when it has doubled in volume.  The tape allows me to measure the rise.

Second, the labeling on the tape contains information that helps me keep things straight when I'm working with multiple starters or multiple doughs.  The label includes the date and time that the starter (or dough) was mixed, the ingredients, and the hydration level. The left side of the label above indicates that the starter was mixed on 6/28 at 1:30 in the afternoon.  The right side of the label indicates that the starter contains whole wheat flour (WW) and unbleached bread flour (UBF).  Unless noted, they are in equal proportions (by weight!)  If I were using all purpose flour (APF), unbleached all purpose flour (UAPF) or rye flour (R), the label would indicate so.  

Finally, the label indicates that the mix is at 100% hydration (equal amounts of flour and water, by weight).  Hydration is an underappreciated measure that is actually critical to making good bread with consistent results.  I'll have more on that as I progress through this process.

One final piece of advice before I close out this column.  Several times, above, I've noted "by weight". This is critically important if you want to be able to eventually create good breads on a consistent basis.  The reason is simple.  The ratio of water to flour is one of the most important factors in determining the final texture of your bread.  And you simply can't ensure a consistent ratio without measuring by weight.  Don't believe me?  Measure out a cup of flour and place it in a large glass.  Now measure a second cup of flour and place it in a second glass.  Now take that second glass and shake it from side to side for about a minute.  Afterward, observe how much the flour in one glass has settled relative to the other glass.  You started with the same volume measure of flour, but one is now much more compacted than the other.  A cup's worth of that compacted flour, when mixed with water, would yield a much drier and firmer dough.  If you want to be able to reproduce your successes, you absolutely must measure your ingredients by weight.

Enough!  I'll be back in a few days when my mud pie starts to turn into something interesting.

A New Quest!

This past weekend I had the great privilege of visiting Tartine Bakery, in the Mission District of San Francisco.  In 2008, Tartine's owners Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt took home the James Beard Award for being the best pastry chefs in the country, after having been nominated for a number of years prior.

Elisabeth is the pastry chef of the pair.  The pastry shelves in front of the bakery are refreshed throughout the day with amazing, if pricey, treats.

Pastry is something that, although it impresses me, is something that I simply have no interest in being proficient at.  Perhaps it requires a degree of artistry that I just don't possess.  Whatever the reason, I leave pastry to others with more of a passion for sweets.  

Yes, that is a $66 Lemon Meringue!

This is a bakery that is so well known that it does not even have a sign on the outside of the building, and anytime that the bakery is open there is a line out the door and around the corner. When I arrived at 11:30, there was a line of perhaps 50 people in front of me.  And during the hour that I was there for lunch, the line never grew any shorter.

But before you start to wonder what a discussion of the top bakery in America has to do with a sourdough baking blog, let me explain.  In culinary terms "pastry" does not just mean "sweets and desserts".  While Elisabeth Prueitt is the master behind the amazing treats pictured above, Chad Robertson is regarded by most as the modern day master of naturally leavened (aka "wild yeast", aka "sourdough") artisan bread.  Prior to opening Tartine in 2002, Robertson spent over a decade doing apprentice work for some of the most highly regarded bread bakers in the U.S. and Europe, and founded and ran two very successful bakeries in northern California.  This man knows his bread, and people come from far and wide to purchase it.  That line of 50 people that I encountered when I arrived at 11:30 last Sunday morning?  If I'd been there just a bit later in the day, it would have been far larger.  Tartine's bread comes out of the ovens at 4:30 every afternoon.  In just over an hour the day's bake (a couple thousand loaves) is sold out.  You can't simply get in line to buy Tartine bread.  You must call in advance to reserve a loaf (or a half loaf).

A few years ago Chad took on an apprentice by the name of Eric Wolfinger, who also happened to be a first rate photographer.  Together they set out to build a modern day bible of artisan bread baking.  The result is "Tartine Bread", of which (following my visit to Tartine Bakery!) I am now a proud owner.

"Tartine Bread" documents what has come to be known as "the Tartine Method" of making bread.  The Tartine Method uses solely natural yeast, high hydration doughs, minimal mechanical mixing, small amounts of mature starter, young leaven, very high heat, and high degrees of steam during baking to produce a very mild sourdough with a spongy open crumb and a very crisp blistered glistening outer crust (see the picture above).  In recent years this style of bread has come to define the holy grail of artisan bread baking.

Over the course of the past two years I've learned to make what is, in my judgement, some very good bread.  We no longer buy store bought bread here at home.  Each week I bake fresh bread that turns into sandwiches for the following week.  Special events, social gatherings, even some charity events, all rate fresh baked bread.  But while I've learned to make very good bread, it's still relatively basic.  

Anyone who has ever attended culinary school will tell stories of the first several weeks of school, in which they learned to cook eggs 30 different ways.  The theory being that properly cooking an egg requires mastery of a range of basic techniques, a mastery of the use of heat, and a mastery of certain food related chemistry.  

Bread is much the same.  If you want to learn to make great bread, you must first master the basics.  This is especially true of sourdough, and other yeast leavened breads.  Time, temperature, dough hydration, dough shaping, gluten formation, pH, and physical techniques such as loaf forming, slashing technique, and steaming all play into successful bread.  It's impossible to master these variables unless you make the same bread time after time after time, and learn from the successes and failures each time.  With practice, and careful observation, it's possible to use the very same recipe and yet vary the density of the crumb, the color, crispness and depth of the crust, the degree of sourness, and the texture.  After baking the same bread for close to two years, I've started to gain some minimal proficiency.  So now it is time for the next challenge.

In "Tartine Bread", Chad Robertson begins with the techniques necessary to create what he terms the "Tartine Country Loaf".  Throughout the remainder of the book he explains how to vary the basic country loaf to create more exotic and advanced breads, as well as how to create a wide variety of dishes that use bread as an ingredient.

So, my new quest:  To bake my way through "Tartine Bread".  This will take a while.  It's not a matter of creating one recipe a week.  First, I need to go back to the beginning and apply what I've learned, up to this point, to master the Tartine Country Loaf.

Today I began.  The first step on the journey is a new sourdough starter.  My old starter is not going anywhere.  I'll simply have two starters that are used for different styles of bread.

While my older starter has unbleached all purpose flour and rye as its basis, the new starter is built on unbleached bread flour and whole wheat flour.  The bread flour contributes more protein than all purpose flour (APF), which in turn results in greater gluten formation during the bread making process.  Gluten is the basis of the "hole" structure in bread (technically known as "crumb"), so greater gluten formation results in more trapped gas during fermentation and dough rising, and thus larger holes.  Whole wheat flour, in addition to contributing a different flavor than rye, also contributes protein (and thus gluten).  Rye contains little protein, and thus contributes primarily flavor.

This will be interesting!  The quest to bake my way through Tartine Bread will occupy many blog posts.  Let the baking begin!