>I met an American girl online last year and we married on Valentines
>day this year on the beach here in New Zealand. We're living here
>now but there is one tragedy in the whole story....NO sourdough
>bread in NZ to speak of. Alas, I have been exposed to SFO S/D and
>nothing else is now good enough!!! :-
>
>I got hold of a starter here but had extremely poor results. I have
>read that local climate had alot to do with it (which I can't
>control), but can anyone tell me what other factors come into it?
Actually, the local "air" is the largest determining factor, in my
opinion. The flavor of the sourdough bread is dependent on the makeup
of the yeasties and other beasties, and that varies from locale to
locale. You can buy sourdough starter that is cultured and grown in
San Francisco, and at the beginning the taste will be just like any
sourdough you've had in SF. But if you keep the culture alive, it
will eventually replace the SF "character" with the local one.
Doug