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For millenia, four elements--flour, water, salt and yeast--have
come together to produce leavened bread in the West, the
Middle East, and India. Over time, bakers have added diverse
ingredients and developed singular methods of baking. Today's
yeasted bread varieties are endless, from spongy, generic
"Wonder-type" breads to the world's top of the line artisan
bakeries, like Poilane's of Paris, where a 4.2 lb. loaf of
sheer sourdough heaven, called
a miche, costs $25.00 and
ships to the U.S. for $36.00.
Sourdough, like any other risen bread, depends on yeasts,
and is a method of baking, rather than a taste. The term
itself is unfortunate, in that people expect the bread to
have a sour flavor. Master Baker Peter Reinhart tells us
that wheat itself contains mainly bland-tasting carbohydrates,
and that the baker's test is to use yeast, pure water, and
salt to elicit wheat's many hidden layers of flavor.
The result is a loaf with crackling, caramelized crust,
a tender yet chewy interior and HOLES. The characteristic
network of holes in artisan bread provides convenient pockets
for butter, jam, honey and many other toppings.
Sourdough starter, or levain, is simply an ancient method
of keeping yeast alive for long periods of time. This is
understandable; when ancient people discovered that levain
transformed flatbreads into light, airy loaves, yeast became
a valuable possession, passed from generation to generation.
How does sourdough work? The flour and water base captures
wild yeasts floating in the air and natural yeasts in the
flour. These wild yeasts occur everywhere. For instance,
the whitish "bloom" on the skins of grapes is composed of
wild yeasts. These yeasts go to work on the carbohydrates
in wheat, and produce sugar and alcohol. In fact, ancient
people probably used the alcohol as a beverage before discovering
that the wild yeasts leavened their bread. This process is
commonly known as "fermentation".
Recent scientific studies extol the virtue of fermented
foods, including sourdough and other foods used for centuries,
such as yogurt, aged cheese, and miso. As these foods ferment,
"friendly" bacteria, yeasts and molds predigest carbohydrates,
fats, and proteins, making more nutrients available. These
fermenting agents create probiotics which benefit the entire
digestive tract and help keep our immune system strong.
The specific bacteria at work in sourdough are lactobacillus
and acetobacillus. They form lactic and acetic acids, respectively,
as they predigest the enzyme-released sugars in the dough.
These friendly bacteria inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria
not only throughout the entire digestive system, but in the
birth canal as well. Some new scientific studies indicate
that probiotics are effective therapies or cancers of the
digestive system (especially colon cancer), controlling high
cholesterol, lowering blood sugar levels, preventing infections,
fighting all types of inflammation, eliminating some symptoms
of irritable bowel syndrome.
Properly made sourdough, then, is not only world-class bread
and a meal in itself, but its nutritional benefits
are increasingly evident. To top it off, the shelf life of
sourdough is much longer than commercial bread, without the
artificial preservatives and other questionable chemicals
that characterize industrial bread production. Shelf life
for most loaves is up to five days and the flavor only improves
with time.
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