Sourdough Love
Once you’ve tried real sourdough bread it’s hard to go back to any other kind of bread. The delicious crusty loaf with a tangy taste has received a lot of love in the past year. But sourdough bread has been around for a very long time: it’s the oldest form of leavened bread and it was baked as early as ancient Egypt. Besides being delicious sourdough bread is known to be easier to digest and is particularly rich in nutrients.
I’ve discussed with Chris, a fantastic sourdough baker known as @sourdoughbrooo on Instagram. In 2020 Chris found himself hyper focused on bread baking and often joked he was “lost in a loaf.” Teacher by day and a sourdough baker on weekends, Chris truly enjoys the process of making the bread, even more than just eating it. He’s sharing his love for sourdough with us.
Q&A with Chris, @sourdoughbrooo
First things first, what's the main difference between sourdough bread and what we can call "regular bread"?
Sourdough is better! Sourdough is typically only 3 ingredients: flour, water, and salt. For thousands of years people have been baking bread and almost all of these first breads have been a slow fermentation. Sourdough usually has a 24+ hour process. Bread rises because yeast breaks down sugars and creates carbon dioxide air bubbles.
Modern bread is fermented with instant yeast which is fast acting but difficult to digest. They have unnecessary additives to boost nutritional value and shelf life. This regular bread isn’t real traditional bread and people are beginning to avoid it and opt for a healthier choice.
A batch of four 1kg sourdough boules made by Chris. Photo courtesy of @sourdoughbrooo.
Why is sourdough bread more interesting to realize than regular bread?
Sourdough bread is created using a starter. A starter is a mixture of flour and water that has wild yeast and bacteria growing inside, which breaks down the sugars and gluten while the dough ferments. A starter must be fed once or twice a day (like a pet!) for the chemical reaction to take place.
A starter has the consistency of oatmeal and usually triples in height as it ferments over an 8-12 hour time period before settling back down. You want to feed a starter and use a ripe peaked starter for your levain, which will then be mixed with the bulk of the flour to bake your dough. Most people mix sourdough by hand, forming, and place their dough in a refrigerator for a cold fermentation to help develop the sour lactic acid and give the wild yeast more time to work its magic. It’s chemistry!
How would you describe sourdough taste compared to regular bread?
Sourdough bread tastes like how real bread should taste. There is an initial slightly sour taste which kicks your digestion into high gear, and there should be an incredibly crunchy crust and moist chewy crumb (center).
You can notice a subtle salty aftertaste which really gets you to crave another slice or nibble. In all of the times I have enjoyed sourdough bread, I have never felt bloated or disgusted from eating more than a single helping. Your stomach actually seems to thank you for eating something not so processed or artificial. Studies show sourdough is much more digestible and nutritious, even for people who are more sensitive to gluten.
“Baking sourdough is for a scientist’s mind since it is an experiment.”
Do you find it difficult to make sourdough bread?
There are about 12 steps to follow to make a real sourdough bread loaf. You really need a gram scale for precise measuring, an instant thermometer, some baking equipment, and a timing process to follow to get it right. Consistency is important. I’ve made many mistakes and like anything, you learn best from making mistakes and not being afraid to keep trying to improve.
Some bakers go to the extreme to measure and record every factor from time and temperature to humidity in the air, humidity in the refrigerator, steam injected ovens (steam is important) to temperature of flour premixed with water temperatures.
At first it was overwhelming and I felt like it wasn’t even worth the effort to attempt making a starter which takes about 7-10 days to establish. I stuck with baking using instant yeast for a couple months. After a few weeks of research I built up the courage to try.
My first sourdough bread was baked in early July 2020. Now it is not difficult for me, I have memorized the important steps.
A chocolate chip and cherry sourdough with creative pattern baked by Chris. Photo courtesy of @sourdoughbrooo.
What's your favorite thing about sourdough bread?
There are a few things that are my favorite with sourdough so I’m honestly hooked for life. Hearing from people that the bread I baked is the best bread they have ever tasted in their life is quite rewarding! I think giving one away is one of the best handmade gift to friends, family members, co-workers, or anyone. It really shows you care for them.
Experimenting with changing up the recipe, adding different ingredients, learning from my mistakes really makes me see what can make a big difference or what might be an unnecessary step in the process. This is why baking sourdough is for a scientist mind since it is an experiment. I really love scoring the dough with the lame knife, it’s interesting how the bread rises and will tear through a crust with no score pattern so by cutting the dough, you are controlling the rise. I like to get creative with cutting the dough to really bring them to the next level. That is why baking sourdough is also for an artist eye.
I usually bake the breads in Dutch ovens with a lid so I don’t get to see how they rose up or will look like until I take the lid off the pot. Then it’s “the big reveal,” it’s like opening a surprise gift every time! I feel like if you can make them look like an artisan worked their magic, people can begin to feast with their eyes, and even take pictures before making it vanish.
Thank you to Chris for sharing his knowledge and passion about sourdough bread. You can find him on Instagram @sourdoughbrooo.
Chris’ recommendations to start making your own sourdough bread:
On YouTube: The Ultimate Sourdough Starter Guide and No Kneed Beginner Sourdough Bread videos from Joshua Weissman.
On Netflix: documentary series “Cooked” episode 3 “Air” in which journalist Michael Pollan explores the science behind bread making.