I recall reading in the BB Newsletter that adding a little rice wine
vinegar to the dough (not the starter) would create a more sour sourdough
bread. Yesterday, when reading Secrets of a Jewish Baker by George
Greenstein, 4th printing in 1998 by The Crossing Press, Freedom, CA, I
read the following on page 13:
"Sourdough breads are made from a sour, or starter, which is a batter of
flour and water allowed to ferment under controlled conditions and used
as a base for making the breads. I am appalled by recipes that call for
vinegar to be incorporated into the dough to create sourdough bread or
rolls. Sourdough breads and rolls made from a proper sour, or starter,
have no vinegary flavor. The sourdough process adds a prefermented base
to the bread dough, which results in aging the dough and developing a
crumb with more moisture. It creates better texture and produces
superior flavor."
Also on page 13, Mr. Greenstein said this about scalding milk:
"I am often surprised to see a modern recipe that calls for scalding
whole milk in a yeast dough. When a formula specifies skim milk powder,
it is used as a dry ingredient and the dough is made in the normal
manner. The reason for this is very simple. There is an enzyme present
in whole milk that is able to destroy the yeast cells, causing the dough
to rise poorly or preventing it from rising at all. Bakers very quickly
learned that by scalding the milk, the enzyme was destroyed. Thinking
this through, it should become apparent that the powdered milk has been
manufactured with a heat process that destroys the enzyme. All processed
whole milk is pasteurized. Most whipping cream now available is
ultrapasteurized, meaning sterilized. Pasteurization and sterilization
are heat processes, and the enzymes in question are no longer present in
our milk, so there is no reason to scald it. Unless raw whole milk is
being used, you may safely ignore a requirement for scalding milk in any
bread recipe you may be using."
On the back cover of the book appears a note that Mr. Greenstein "owned
and ran a Jewish bakery on Long Island. Since retirement, he has set
down . . . all his knowledge about bread making. He presently lives
in New Jersey." Those bakers who prefer to mix and then knead by hand,
or mix and knead with a food processor or a dough-mixing machine (the
author uses a Kitchen Aid, Model K5SS, with a 5-quart capacity bowl) will
find the book to be invaluable. I agree with reviewer Florence
Fabricant of the New York Times who stated that although the author
"happens to be Jewish, he has written a fairly comprehensive general
bread baking book." It is chock full of information!
Lynn Cragholm
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