[Sca-cooks] Starter went 'Pffft'

[Bill Fisher]

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 15:20:31 -0600, Terry Decker
<t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> All bread doughs tend to be acid and at least a little sour in taste.  In a
> sourdough, the flavor is a function of the lactobacilli, which are
> localized.  The flavor of the bread changes as the lactobacilli change.
> Sourdoughs have a full flavor which may or may not be particularly tangy or
> sour even if you have allowed the the lactobacilli to work.  My current
> sourdough has a nice flavor but isn't particularly sour tasting even though
> it is acidic.
> 
> Bear

Yeah, it has definitely been my experience that not all 'sourdoughs' are
sour.  It is just a term for the construction as opposed to yeasty breads
where you add refined yeast.  I grew up with Amish Friendship Bread,
have had some good rye sourdoughs (from NYC, I forget where I bought
it when I lived there in '88) and here in Atlanta they have bread here that is 
quite sour that they claim is San Francisco sourdough.

I used to get frustrated that when I tried to make Friendship Bread at 
home mine would be sour, and I was using the same recipe that the 
Amish lady used.  The lady explained to me that it was the house that
made it sour and that happened from time to time.  And my grandfather,
who was a science teacher, explained about lactobacilli to me.

Is there any way to import the lactobacilli to do the work for you? Or 
a way you can "seed" your environment with a strain?

Cadoc
-- 

"The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it" -
                                    - William Gibson