On Sourdough Bread Making

Preface to the Third Revision

(June, 2008)

Apart from transferring these notes to (yet another) wiki, I've streamlined the actual practical bits, and paired back (I know, it is still long-winded!) the 'theory' section. This has come about because I've settled into a longer, but more simplified baking method that approximately follows the Sonoma bakery methodology as learnt there during a tour in 2007. The method seems very reliable and so I pass it on. Not that my previous approaches were fickle, but I think that the previous revisions causes fear by too many 'dos' and 'don'ts'.

The reality is that sourdough bread making is very forgiving -- a point I try to make in the introduction. Indeed, more forgiving than I ever realised. Weights are somewhat important (though my favourite father-in-law begs to differ) and times are even less important (I think we're in agreement on that, now). So on the whole, this revision tries to keep my observations and thoughts, but actually has less on what to do when. It is deliberately short and vague on these points. The reader is encouraged to get in and learn by doing. Sourdough is an interesting and remarkable thing. Enjoy the process of baking, and of course, that first bite on a weekend morning into that Biblically airy, chewy, elastic and flourvourfull loaf!

As ever, Happy baking!

Preface to the Second Revision

This revision has been promised for some time, but through a number of factors is only now being made. Suffice to say, my apologies to those who may have been working from Revision I since, as shall be seen below, my thinking and practice has changed somewhat in the intervening time. I owe a great debt firstly to Richard McIntyre (of Moorooduc Estate, Mornington Penninsula) who kindly gave me a one-on-one sourdough class just prior to Christmas 2005. It was he who introduced me to the 'wet-dough' technique that shall be introduced below. Similarly, to my favourite father-in-law Warren King, whose own experiments in sourdough have informed my understanding greatly. And finally, the Sonoma bakery (Sydney) workshop that Warren and I attended served to cement my knowledge (and is the source of the idea for the excellent spelt fruit-loaf recipe that appears below).

So what demanded this revision? The previous article explained what I shall refer to as a 'dry dough' approach. Not that we were dealing with an unhydrated dough, but in relation to the 'wet-dough' technique that Richard (of Moorooduc Estate) and Andrew (of Sonoma) both practice, the previous recipe employed a less hydrated dough. The wet dough technique has its own problems, but overall, a wetter dough takes care of many of the previous 'faults' that could still occur with the previous method. It is for this reason that I have moved exclusively to this technique.

Furthermore, the article has been reviewed significantly to reflect my own present thinking concerning the emphasis of the bread making problem. Rather than the measures and methodology and timing that was the stuff of the previous revision, this revision will introduce the basic components of the technique and then present a number of different ways to achieve the final loaf. The variety of 'roads' to Rome are due to my own and other's attempts at fitting sourdough into a 'normal' life. Or perhaps I should say, allowing for the 'normal' to survive around the sourdough life.

Of course, as before, I am very keen to hear from experiences 'in the field'. Let me know about problems, questions, and improvements that you have.