Göran Söderin - Baking Sourdough Bread: Dozens of Recipes for Artisan Loaves, Crackers, and Sweet Breads

Copyright 2010 by Gran Sderin and George Strachal and Ica Bokfrlag, Forma Books AB English Translation Copyright 2014 by Skyhorse Publishing First published in 2010 as Baka surdegsbrd by Gran Sderin and George Strachal, Ica Bokfrlag, Forma Books AB, Sweden Photography by Heln Pe Graphic design by Anna Paladino/Paladinodesign Styling by Amanda Jakobsson Layout and original by Anders Wahlberg All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. www.skyhorsepublishing.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 eISBN: 978-1-62873-836-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sderin, Gran. [Baka surdegsbrod. English] Baking sourdough bread : dozens of recipes for artisan loaves, crackers, and sweet breads / Goran Soderin and George Strachal; photography by Helen Pe; translated by Malou Fickling. pages cm Includes index. ISBN 978-1-62636-399-1 1.

Sourdough bread. I. Strachal, George. II. Pe, Heln. Title. Title.

TX770.S66S6313 2014 641.8157dc23 2013034019 Printed in China

Sourdough is a divine creationat least, if you believe what the Bible says about it: The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened ( Matthew 13:33 ). The Israelites fled Egypt in a hurry. They didnt have enough time to let the bread rise, meaning they had to bake unleavened bread. Jews celebrate this during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Hag HaMatzah , during which you eat matzo a flat bread baked with flour, oil, salt, and waterfor a period of seven days. When Emperor Augustus ruled the Roman Empire (around the time of the birth of Christ), Rome had over three hundred bakeries that supplied bread to its citizensbread that was mainly baked with leaven. The largest bakery produced over 100,000 loaves a day.

When the Roman Empire collapsed, the major supply bakeries did as well. We dont know much about what happened next. There are few records that tell us of the significance of bread over the years; however, recipes have been found from thirteenth-century monasteries. According to American literature, the Wild West could never have been conquered without sourdough starters, and the old veterans of Alaskaprospectors and settlerswere called sourdoughs. They always carried a bit of sourdough in their knapsacks or in a bag that hung from a ribbon around their necks. Unlike yeast, sourdough could keep for long periods of time.

You would bring it from home with you in order to obtain the specific taste of the bread you grew up with. Being called sourdough was proof of manhood. It meant that you were tough, experienced, and hardened. Sourdough was valued so highly that it was preserved in the family as if it were worth its weight in gold. Primarily in the United States, the culture around sourdough has created a variety of modern myths. One of the most mystical sourdough cultures is called The San Francisco Sourdough, and it is made from a lactic acid bacterium called Lactobacillus sanfransiscensis .

Other types of dough have also been praised in modern sourdough history; these include the German Sauerteig , the Russian Zakvaska , the Flemish Desem , and the French Levain . Back in the olden days, sourdough was believed to serve many functions. The dough was sometimes used as dog food; it could heal wounds, particularly burns; and it was used to make alcoholic beverages. The traditional Russian drink kvass , for example, is made from sourdough black or rye bread. The dough could even be used to seal cracks in poorly built houses and to half-sole shoes. One thing is certain: Sourdough is extremely healthy.

Several scientific reports, from foreign as well as national research, demonstrate sourdoughs health benefits. One relevant finding is that if you eat sourdough bread in the morning, its much easier to keep your GI index in balance throughout the day. The lactic acid also helps you get an extra dose of B vitamins. Additionally, there is an increase in acetylcholinesneurotransmitters that affect particular parts of the nervous system. Our blood pressure drops, and we become calmer. There are tons of recipes and descriptions on how to get a sourdough started and how the bread should be baked.

Some are tremendously complex with elaborate instructions when it comes to weight and volume. Usually the description depends on the bakers understanding of the biochemical process that results in the sourdough.

Someone once said that bread production, and consequently the making of sourdough, was one of mankinds first successful biochemical experiments. Humans had learned to control natural chemical processes. The fermentation process can be activated by bacteria as well as yeast. This is how it works: Everywhere around us, there are bacteria that are useful in different ways.

In fact, every persons body contains a few pounds of bacteria. We would never be able to cope with life on Earth without it. In short, one can say that bacteria are primarily beneficial to humans. Actually, there are many more beneficial bacteria than harmful ones. Lactobacillus is the bacteria family that plays the lead role in the process of creating a good sourdough. .

This bacteria can produce both lactic and acetic acid. There are many variations of lactobacillus . However, they arent all suitable for sourdough baking; some are better for making yogurt, buttermilk, or even salami and smoked sausage. Sourdough bread also tastes different in every part of the world; it can even vary within the space of a city, as each variety of lactobacillus makes for a unique taste. Yeast is all over as well. You can find wild yeast on fruits, vegetables, and grains.

The more carbohydrates, the higher the concentration of yeast. In this book, we dont explore wild yeast baking in detail, but there are instructions on how to make your own yeast from raisins. Nature provides numerous varieties of yeasts, but the most common in sourdough is Saccharomyces exiguus . What distinguishes conventional baking yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiac , from sourdough yeast is that its difficult for conventional baking yeast to survive in an acidic environment. By contrast, S. exiguus thrives there.

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