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To culture or not to culture?

26/9/2012

2 Comments

 
There are many short-cuts to making sourdough, but is it really sourdough when you boost it with yeast or other exotic ingredients?  Search the internet for a while and you will find all sorts of additives to give your starter a boost, or to make it work quicker.  
Some traditional techniques include using raisins to capture their wild yeast, and a little of the flavour of the raisins.  Other, more recent techniques include using cabbage leaves!

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not against innovation. However, when we use exotic additives to boost a sourdough starter, we must stop to consider what we are doing. Are we really making an authentic culture that relates to the natural, organic seeds and grains we are using to make our bread? Or, are we making a brew of unknown ingredients, with unknown risks?  


2 Comments
theGFCookie link
26/9/2012 07:47:14 am

This is a very interesting debate...I suppose it will be up to your patience if you use a booster to your culture.
It is the now generation.
My thought was, how does it effect the final outcome.
The gf recipes I have seen posted on sites that have had these techniques all use batter, to me it's just savory yeasted cake- not bread.
I think that is why your recipes intrigue me!

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Chris Stafferton
26/9/2012 09:17:51 am

I agree, there is the matter of patience. There is also the issue of knowing what you are including in your bread. In the home kitchen we usually are not able to do a microbiological analysis, so I prefer to stick with the yeasts and bacteria that live on the seeds I am using in my bread.

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    When I had to go gluten free I was disappointed at the taste and texture of gluten free baked foods that were available. Packet mixes were very disappointing. So I started to develop recipes that are good to eat.
    There was so much to learn along the way. Eventually I made progress with bread that looked, felt, smelled and tasted like real bread!  From there I have been exploring and learning more about basic gluten free ingredients to make a range of bread, pastry and pasta!

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