Any Bread Bakers out there? (sour-dough bread)

[mikeofaustin]

People will often swear by the natural yeast in their area, and it's actually been a good selling point for a company in San-Fransisco (bread bakers know what I'm speaking of).

My question is, do you bake bread, or even sour dough bread? Do you use local yeasts or keep a culture from out of town?

Of course, there is always the argument that when you keep an out of town yeast culture, it will eventually 'climatize' to your local surroundings (thoughts on that too are appreciated).

I've grown my own local Austin yeast a couple years, and I think I simply do not like sour-dough bread, but I've tried San-Fran, and I don't know if it's a big conspiricay, but I think I can actually enjoy that culture.

Perhaps it's my imagination?

 

[lumbercamp]

I cheat by using yeast from a pkg. to start my culture. I use milk to refresh it and it does get very sour sitting out in room temperature. And yes, I do like sourdough bread, biscuits, waffles, pancakes.

 

[packerbacker]

Yes, I bake bread and I started my "starter" with store-bought yeast. I agree with your theory about out of town starter eventually becoming "local" starter. You can buy starters from all over the world but personally I think it's a waste of money. Anyway, I decided to toss the starter I had for about two years and replacing it with natural starter from our airborn yeast. I haven't started the process yet but soon. Just wanted the starter to be more natural.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI: Like many of you I use packaged yeast to start with. I have yet to see someone that doesn't like it. However, I don't put the unused mixture back into the starter.

Lately I have been getting lazy since our local baker makes excellent sour dough breads. He bakes once a day.

He builds a mesquite fire in the oven very early in the morning, then about 1 -2pm. starts baking. When possible I am standing right at the oven door for them, hot & ready to be 'drooled' with real butter.

Found a super market in Tucson that has fresh Excellent fresh, hot ,soughdough bread, almost the same flavor as the SF.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[packerbacker]

The packeged was good, I just wanted to see what natural starter would be like. Kinda "purist" don'tcha think? I still don't know how you could get some SF starter and take it home, use it and feed it, and not have it "lose" it's SF quality. It would eventually use the natural yeast from the local air. Hmmmmm

 

[spartacus53]

I was growing my own yeast, but the doctor gave me some medicine so I am fine now.. :P

I haven't made bread in ages, but when I did I would buy the little packets of yeast. Most times I'm like Real De Tayopa, I buy it at the bakers..

 

[packerbacker]

Hey spart.......sourdough bread is made a little different than your "normal" bread. You use what's called a "starter" to make it. Some people have starters that have been passed down for generations. It's very interesting to read up on.

 

[Shortstack]

I got familiar with sourdough bread while stationed in Alaska. The first thing you learn about working with sourdough starter is the smell. But, once you get past the smell, you've got it................................................................baked.

 

[spartacus53]

Hey spart.......sourdough bread is made a little different than your "normal" bread. You use what's called a "starter" to make it. Some people have starters that have been passed down for generations. It's very interesting to read up on.

Thanks for the info.. I am not big into sourdough even though it is popular, I prefer regular bread. I will read up on it in case I ever change my mind.

 

[Jeep]

Been doing it for many years, just used the natural spores in the air, keep it in the crock in the fridge
to slow it down between baking.

It don't get no easier once ya get the hang of it.

 

[Johnnysan]

The only bread I bake is banana nut bread; no yeast.

Sorry to disappoint y'all.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Hi Johnny" Throw it into a sour dough mixture and enjoy really good Banana bread.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[mikeofaustin]

Yes, there are some recipes that call for 'some starter' and then use the packets. I personally think that's cheating, or somehow different from when the gold miners were doing it naturally.

It actually is a good read for anyone that wants to get into it. One topic that I read a while back was that the gold miners would keep their starter (that was in a jar), next to them when they slept at night. The books said it was to keep it warm, and keep it from dying. But my theory is that, as a miner, and being far from having any food, that starter to make bread was 'worth it's weight in gold'. So, if you refresh starter, you have to keep it warm before you can use it again to regrow more yeast. So, if a miner was baking biscuits every day, they would obviously have to grow new yeast every day so they could live on what food they could get. I've never heard that theory in any books. I mean, it's not like a miner could go to the local 5 and dime to get a burrito.

Also, there is the 'hooch' part of it. The top part of the starter that is actually alcohol. People can drink that and get drunk. it's also my theory that they would generate as much hooch as possible for obvious reason.

Does anyone have an accurate idea of what the alcohol content is of that hooch? I know when I make it, I can make only a half 'shot' or so.

History is awesome.

5 points to anyone that knows what sporting team was named after these people...

 

[Frankn]

Many years back, I was in an army field bakery unit. The yeast we used came in moist bricks like butter. It mearly said "YEAST Army #xxxxxx". We would activate it by putting it in 73 Deg. F. water. We baked 300# of bread at a time . The mixing was done in what looked like a S.S. morter mixer. The finished product had a 1/4" crust and really tasted good. One day we were short on flower so the warehouse sent over some old hard winter wheat that was full of bowlweavers-Big black bugs-. We sifted it several times but couldn't get them all out!.We called the Veternarian. He said ok to use, it will just give them a little extra protean. The troops loved it They thought it was rasin bread. One day the Capt. brought over a fifth of Cuban rum an requerted Rum buns. After he left, the Sarg. opened the Fifth and passed it around. He said the alchol would be waisted when it evaporated during baking. He used rum extracts instead. The Capt. came over and said the buns were great, in fact some of the officers appeared to be getting woozy on them!!

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