Wild Yeast Sourdough

* Exported from MasterCook *

WILD YEAST SOURDOUGH

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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Stephen Ceideburg
Text Only

The Chef or Starter (Based by Thorne on the method of
Lionel Poilane)

1. Pour one-half cup of (unchlorinated) water into a
bowl. Work in enough flour to make a "moist but
cohering dough." Prac- tice will make this stage
obvious: when the soupy slurry turns to a solid,
puttylike mass that can be massaged (kneaded) into a
small, elastic ball. Please note that no commercial
yeast has been added. This starter will ferment, if it
does ferment, be- cause of the presence, either in the
ambient air or in the flour, of naturally occurring
yeasts and symbiotic bacteria.

2. Put the starter in a small bowl. Cover with a damp
dish towel secured by a rubber band. Leave on a shelf
in a draft-free kitchen for three days, re-moistening
the towel as needed (and when possible: clearly, the
atmosphere in your kitchen may dry out the towel so
rapidly that only round-the clock surveillance will
really keep the towel continually moist. Eternal
vigilance is impossible, but do your best. Also please
note that no kitchen temperature is specified, since
you will probably have to work with what you've got.
Unheated kitchens in severe winter weather are
obviously not the ideal, but the normal range of
temperature in a modern home should work in something
like the times speci- fied here and below).

3. The starter is activated when it looks and smells
active. Fermentation produces a noticeable expansion
in its size and a slightly "tangy" odor. It can then
be used or refrigerated for several days.

The Levain, or Sponge: 8-ounce starter, 2 1/2 cups
flour,

Put the starter in a bowl with 1 1/4 cups cold water
(cold to slow the fermentation, on the theory that a
long rising at this point improves flavor and. be
cause it relaxes the gluten, makes the job of working
in the water easier). Work until the starter has
completely dissolved. (Thorne uses his hands: an
electric hand beater is it much more efficient. Just
add a little water at a time.) Stir in the flour and
the salt to make a loose mass. With floured hands move
it to a clean bowl. Cover with a damp towel and a
piece of plastic wrap. Secure with a rubber band and
leave to ripen overnight in a cool place (Thorne
specifies 60 degrees).

The Loaf: 1 sponge, Flour, Cornmeal

1. Put the sponge on a well-floured surface. Begin to
work in the new flour. The idea is to knead in as much
flour as the sponge will "take" until it turns into
silken, nonsticky dough that is a pleasure to work. No
amount of flour is specified. The limiting factor is
the 1 1/4 cups of water added at the sponge stage.
This kneading stage takes 12 to 15 minutes, during
which the movement activates the elasticity of the
gluten and traps air in the dough so that the yeast
can do its work.

2. Dust the dough with flour, put it in a large,
lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let
rise to double in bulk. This is a fairly fast rise and
needs a warm environment, around 80 degrees, for one
to three hours, usually about two.

3. Flour your hands and gently rework the dough to
break up air bubbles. Pinch off an egg-shaped piece of
the dough and reserve as the starter for subsequent
adventures. Line a colander with a generously floured
towel, and secure it around the colan- der's perimeter
with a rubber band. Set the dough on the towel and let
rise almost as far as it did on the first rise.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the base of
the bread cloche.

5. When the dough is ready, sprinkle the cloche base
liber- ally with corn meal. Then, grasping the towel,
pick up the loaf, and roll it gently onto the cloche
base so that the round part faces up. Slash the
surface in three places with a sharp knife or single
edged razor blade. Place in oven, cover with cloche
top, and bake for 15 minutes.

6. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake another 20
minutes. Then remove the cloche top to brown the crust
for about 10 minutes. The loaf is done if it sounds
hollow when tapped on the bottom. After it cools,
store in a closed paper bag.

Yield: One crusty loaf.

Raymond Sokolov writing in "Natural History", 4/93.

(Abstracted from Outlaw Cook, by John Thorne, Farrar,
Straus & Giroux, 1992)

Posted by Stephen Ceideburg



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