Sourdough bread has become popular nowadays. People are re-discovering this ancient process that makes bread more digestible and tastier. There is proof that many ancient cultures used this process, such as the Egyptians.
Currently, in English language, the term ‘sourdough’ is used to describe a yeast free bread. It is simply made by creating a starter dough with flour and water (sometimes with addition of yeast), which is left to rest for a few days/weeks. This allows the natural microorganisms contained in the flour to grow creating a leavening agent.
Today, surfing on the internet, you can find thousands of blogs and websites about sourdough. However, there seems to be a lot of confusion around this matter. Confusion about terms as sourdough, mother-dough, starter, wild yeast and how these are processed.
So, what do these terms actually refer to?
Let’s throw some light on the matter ….
“Sourdough”is a starter dough simply made of flour and water. This starter is left to rest for a few days or weeks to allow the bacteria to grow. It may have a liquid or solid consistency. In Italy it is known under the name of “Biga”. It is considered a Pre-dough with the purpose of boosting the leavening process of bread or pizza.
The “Mother-dough” (in Italian, lievito madre) is also known in the UK asWild yeast. This is the most ancient leavening agent used by humanity. It can be considered as a proper living organism. The mother-dough is made of a mixture of flour and water fermented with bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Acetobacter and Saccharomyces. To create it and keep it alive requires patience and constant care. The mother-dough is a great leavening agent and makes a highly digestible bread.
When we decided to open our own bakery, we also decided to follow only the most traditionalbaking methods. We do not use any preservatives or chemicals that may affect thequalityof our bread. In order to follow the tradition, the only ingredients we use are: flour, water, salt and our mother-dough.
At Casella&Polegatowe proudly use our own mother-dough thatis almost 15 years old. As mentioned before the Mother-dough can be considered a living organism. In our company, it is considered as our baby. We have also given it a name: Wilson. We take constant care ofWilson: we make sure it stays always warm and it is neverexposed to excessive cold or hot temperatures;we refresh him (or for better say we feed him) adding new nutrients. All of this to make sure it keeps its bacteria alive andthriving.
At Casella&Polegato, we proudly make and look after our own Mother-dough. Thanks to it all our bread has an extraordinary taste, is highly digestible and it stays fresh and soft for longer.
Mother dough, also known as pre-ferment or sourdough starter
sourdough starter
deg som innehåller levande jäst och mjölksyrabakterier. Surdeg är en deg som med levande vildjäst- och mjölksyrabakterier-kultur, och som används som jäsämne i nyberedd deg vid bakning av bröd. Mer subjektiva påståenden är att den ger bröd med bredare smak och bättre struktur.
, is the basis of a loaf of bread. What it needs most of all is patience, as you have to 'feed' the microorganisms it contains periodically to keep it alive.
Mother - this is the overall dough culture that lives in a bowl in your fridge. We take portions from it to make our ferments (Starter) for our sourdough recipes. When the mother culture gets low, we add to it (feed it).
Sourdough relies on a mix of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, rather than baker's yeast, to leaven the dough. It's richer in nutrients, less likely to spike your blood sugar, contains lower amounts of gluten, and is generally easier to digest than bread made with baker's yeast.
If you're into baking or you've jumped on the sourdough band wagon you'll have heard people talking about their mother dough, a lot. Mother dough, also known as pre-ferment or sourdough starter, is the basis of a loaf of bread.
Blackley's sourdough starter, created from 4,500 year-old yeast, is considered the oldest sourdough starter, per Oldest. Other starters like the Saint Honoratus Wheat also are quite old. A bakery called Chrissi's Farmhouse Bakery uses it and said, “This noble starter dates back 900 years.
Mother yeast pre-digests bread. The longer leavening times required to allow enzymes more time to break down proteins (such as gluten), lipid and starch macromolecules, into simple nutrients. A product obtained with sourdough is, thus, more digestible.
Once active, the mother dough is stored in a glass jar closed with a lid or plastic wrap. It can remain at room temperature if you decide to use it every day, and in this case it should be refreshed daily. It can also remain in the refrigerator if you decide to refresh it 1 or 2 times a week without using it every day.
There are five main types of pastry dough for creating pastries: flaky, shortcrust, puff, choux and filo. All of them are made primarily from flour, water and fat. However, these five types of pastry dough each have slightly different core ingredients, different ratios of ingredients and, ultimately, different uses.
Despite all the mysticism and lore about creating the concoction, a sourdough starter is merely a naturally fermenting mixture of flour and water. Add water to dry flour, let it sit on the counter for a few days, and you'll see nature weave life into a once lifeless lump: bubbles will appear and the mixture will rise.
The process for feeding sourdough starter is so simple and takes only a few minutes. For refrigerated starters, feed once a week and start with step 1, but for room temperature starters, feed once a day and start at step 2 (or 3).
Over the past decade-plus of baking, I've tested all manner of flour from whole grain wheat to spelt to einkorn, and while they all do work, my preferred flour to use when creating a sourdough starter is whole grain rye flour and white flour (this can be all-purpose or high-protein bread flour).
Sourdough bread is often perceived as expensive, which can deter many people from trying it. However, this is a myth that needs to be debunked. The simple ingredients and traditional techniques make sourdough an affordable option for everyone.
Always read the label. Genuine sourdough bread is NOT made using additives, baker's yeast (usually listed simply as yeast) or chemical raising agents (eg baking powder). If there isn't a label (or you just fancy a chat) then... Ask the baker / salesperson for a copy of the ingredients list.
Starter. The preparation of sourdough begins with a pre-ferment (the "starter" or "leaven", also known as the "chief", "chef", "head", "mother" or "sponge"), a fermented mixture of flour and water, containing a colony of microorganisms including wild yeast and lactobacilli.
Your sourdough starter is the foundation of baking sourdough bread. Through proper maintenance and a little attention, it can last indefinitely and provide you with countless healthy and delicious loaves of bread.
Active sourdough starter is starter that has been fed water + flour and allowed to sit until it is bubbly and about doubled in size. Sourdough discard is after the starter has peaked, and it has started to come down. It is the portion that you would typically throw away before feeding again.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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