At 12:35 PM 01/08/2000 -0800, Erin Nesmith wrote in v100.n002.6:
>I have just made a sourdough starter using the method outlined in "More
>Bread Machine Magic." It included yogurt, nonfat milk, and bread
>flour. I've used the starter in two bread machine recipes so far, and
>while the texture and appearance have been fine, there just hasn't been
>much sour taste. They both tasted like white bread. Do starters get
>more tangy as they age? Or should I just use some of the sourdough
>bread enhancers I've seen listed in the King Arthur catalog? Or do I
>need to use a recipe with a sponge? I can make it in the bread machine
>or by hand, but I don't want a recipe that begins with: "Day One..."
>
>My ideal sourdough loaf does not taste like white bread at all, rather
>it is tangy, chewy, and full of little holes. The crust does not have
>to be brittle. I am on a quest to make this bread myself, and any
There are two reasons your bread isn't "sour". Your starter isn't
a sourdough starter, and your technique is the same as a regular yeast
white bread technique.
There is a newsgroup on USENET entitled rec.food.sourdough. The
numerous and helpful newsgroup FAQs can be found at :
www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html
There's a good sourdough primer at:
www.pipeline.com/~rosskat/wizzi.html
A quick summary of what's wrong; Sourdough starter is a mixture of
wild yeasts and bacteria (of which there are many, many) that specialize in
living on the starch and gluten in wheat flours. Getting a starter is a
matter of hit or miss (it takes several weeks to get a starter working from
absolute scrtach), and that's why good ones are treasured and passed
around. King Arthur sells (and in fact gives away in its seminars) a
decent starter in its mail order catalog.
I have read the most awful recipes for sourdough starter/bread in
cookbooks. It appears that many cookbook authors have no idea what
sourdough is and simply crib what they've read from other (equally
uninformed) cookbook authors. Get or make a good starter.
Second, sourdough is exactly as you state: tangy, chewy and full
of holes (not "sour"). It gets that way from a lonnnng slow rise in a cool
environment after the first short rise. The tangy, chewy flavor can only
come about from the right technique. See the FAQs. A good sourdough is a 2
day process. That's why cooks were thrilled when commercial yeast became
available in the 19th century: they could start a loaf in the afternoon and
serve it that evening, practically instant bread!
So the common knowledge about cooking with sourdough starter disappeared,
except among a few commercial bakers and cooks. Thanks to the internet, the
knowledge is coming back. Now you can have it too. (Real sourdough bread IS
worth the trouble). Geez. Now I'm hungry.