Artisan Bread

50 Pages·2017·41.74 MB·English

Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
Artisan Bread
The Art of Sourdough
A guide to making your own sourdough bread at home by
Piwakawaka Valley Ltd.
Disclaimer:
The ideas, concepts, and opinions expressed in this book are intended to be used for educational purposes only. This
book is provided with the understanding that authors and publisher are not rendering medical advice of any kind, nor is
this book intended to replace medical advice, nor to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any disease, condition, illness, or
injury.
It is imperative to use good judgement when consuming sour dough and to never consume any sour dough that looks,
tastes, or smells unpleasant. Further, before consuming sour dough or any other fermented or cultured food, you
should receive full medical clearance from a licensed physician. Author and publisher claim no responsibility to any
person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the
use, application, or interpretation of the material in this book.
Copyright © 2017 by Piwakawaka Valley Ltd. All rights reserved.
Except as permitted under the Copyright Act, reproduction or utilisation of this work in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography,
photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden
without written permission of Piwakawaka Valley Ltd.
Publisher: Piwakawaka Valley Ltd
www.piwakawakavalley.com
For more information on making sourdough or other cultured and fermented foods, please visit
piwakawakavalley.com.
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
Contents
Introduction to Sour Dough
What is it and How does it work? 6
Benefits to Sourdough Bread 7
Starters
What are they 8
Bought, inherited or make your own? 9
How to make your own starter 10
Activating the starter 11
Feeding 11
Storing 11
Short term storage 11
Long term storage 12
Rehydrating/reactivating 12
Hydration 13
Switching from one type of flour to another 13
How to Use Kefir as Sourdough 13
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
The Basic Principles of Working with Sourdough
Time 14
Flours 15
Equipment 19
Measuring 19
Dough 19
Mixing 20
Kneading 20
Proofing – long vs short 20
Baking Artisan Loaves – getting a good crust 21
Ratios 22
The Loaf – how to make a basic sourdough bread 23
Troubleshooting
Free-Formed Sourdough Loaves 28
Baking/cooking 29
Starter Issues 31
How Altitude Affects Sourdough Baking 32
Tips and Tricks
For a More/Less Sour Sourdough 33
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
How to Adapt Any Recipe to Become a Sourdough Recipe 34
5 Tips for Working with Traditional Sourdough 35
Recipes
White Loaf 38
Easter Bread 39
No Knead Wholemeal Bread 41
Tortillas, Naan and Turkish Wraps 44
Spiced muffins 46
Waffles 48
References 49
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
Introduction to Sour Dough
What is it and How does it work?
Chewy and slightly tangy, sourdough is an ancient bread,
made from simple ingredients. Sourdough is a real bread,
made with a living culture, not just with wild yeasts but also
lactobacilli bacteria that feed on the flour, producing gases
that get trapped in the flour-water mixture and cause the
bread to rise. The bacteria also produce lactic acid, these
acids produce the sour tang we all recognise in sourdough
breads. Real sourdough is easier on the stomach and
cheaper to make than bread made with commercial dried
yeasts.
Who doesn’t like a warm slice of sourdough bread with
lashings of butter? I bet you didn’t realise just how easy it is
to make either.
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
Benefits to Sourdough Bread
We make sourdough instead of instant yeast for several
reasons, one of which is the amazing taste and texture. The
other reason is that my family don’t do well on gluten, but
actually we suspect it is actually more the non organic wheat
that we all eat in our flour. Often flour is sprayed with weed
killer at some point before harvest to make sorting the wheat
from the weeds easier. Gross. Also all grains have protective
ingredients to keep the little plant babies safe, these are
called anti-nutrients, the most prevalent being phytic acid
“Anti-nutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that
interfere with the absorption of nutrients (1 )”. To get around
these anti-nutrients you can either allow the grain to sprout,
or soak/ferment/sour them which releases the anti-nutrients
and neutralises them. The bonus to
sprouting/fermenting/souring grains – or anything for that
matter – is that with the bacteria activity the end product is
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
higher in protein, has a probiotic effect and it has a lot
more bioavailable vitamins and minerals. Souring wheat also
starts breaking down gluten, which makes it better tolerated
for those that struggle with gluten sensitivity (2).
One of the best features of the sourdough process is that it
allows you to make bread with the simplest of ingredients,
ones that you can even produce yourself. Instead of having
to buy a yeast packet for every loaf of bread, you can just
add a measure of your home-made starter.
Starters
What are they?
A sourdough starter is a sloppy mixture
of flour, water, bacteria and yeast. This
is fed to activate it and get it bubbling
prolifically prior to using it in a batch
of bread.
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
Bought, inherited or make your own?
There are benefits to buying an already proven starter from
somewhere like Cultures for Health. The upside is you know
it will make a tasty, well risen loaf. The downside is that you
have to pay for it and wait for it to arrive. You can inherit a
starter from a friend that has one up and running already,
or you can start your own with a little patience.
What is wonderful about sourdough starters is that each
region of the world will have one containing very specific
yeasts and bacteria (native to that area), which would in turn
create various flavours and textures of bread only available
in that region. The famous “San Francisco Sourdough” is just
one example.
How to make your own starter
Making your own starter is a very simple process thanks to
there being a huge amount of natural yeasts in the air and
conveniently on the wheat that they grind to make our flour.
You need:
Wheat flour of some sort – organic would be better, but it is
also 4 times the price, I haven’t managed to get my head
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Artisan Bread – The Art Of Sourdough
around paying that yet…
Water – rain water has the fastest, strongest results
A jar or bowl – not plastic
Mix 2 Tablespoons of flour with 1 1/2 Tablespoons of water
in a bowl or jar and leave uncovered on the counter top or
somewhere warmish for 3-4 days. After that, remove half of it
and throw it in the compost or feed to your chooks. To the
remaining half add 1 heaped Tablespoon of flour and
1Tablespoon of water and mix and leave until the next day,
keep repeating this each day, until in the morning your
starter smells yeasty and is covered in little bubbles.
Once it is active you can keep it loosely covered with a lid
to keep cretins and goobies out.
If your starter grows mould, smells putrid or goes funny
colours throw it out and start again!
What Kind of Water Do You Need?
Most cultures, such as sourdough, cheese, and fermented
vegetables, are pretty resilient, and will safely use any water
that is suitable for drinking. The water can be rich in
minerals, or completely pure. Many people prefer to use
water that is free of chlorine and fluoride, and there is no
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