SC - Barley

[Jennifer L Sweet]

Rather than beer, I would suggest unhopped brown ale, but let's not quibble,
I've used beer for flavoring.  A rye based starter is produced by different
strains of yeast and lactobacillus than a wheat based starter and is
generally sourer than wheat based starters.

A point to remember is that the breads made with barm are primarily a
northern European thing in period although Gothic bakers brought the
technique to Rome in the 1st Century BCE.  Most southern European bakers
used leavens.

In France, the use of ale barm was considered bad practice.  At some point
using anything other than a levain was prohibited by law and remained that
way until some time in the 19th Century, if I remember the dates, when the
prohibtion was lifted so Parisian bakers could produce some of their highly
aerated breads.

If you have a good starter, you might consider drying some of it and
wrapping it in foil to give to people who are interested in trying it.

Bear

> The starter sponge that I use isn't the San Francisco
> lactobacillus.  But it does have a strong sour taste.
> 
> My recipe is two cups of flour and one cup of flat
> beer.  I usually use rye flour and, if I am fortunate,
> I will use home brewed beer.  It takes about three
> days to start to bubble.  I usually keep it on the
> counter next to the oven.  I personally think that the
> introduction of beer gives the bread a closer flavor
> to breads that were baked using barm.
> 
> Huette