It’s sourfaux not sourdough!

skate

I wonder what on earth we all ate before the craze for sourdough swept in? Some people of my acquaintance seem to think that eschewing ordinary but good quality baker's bread in favour of sourdough somehow makes them a superior type of human being. A touch pretentious, methinks!

I have discovered a food staple that I can safely eat, enjoy and make myself.
It does not make me feel superior in anyway, just grateful that I can eat freshly baked bread that I really enjoy.

It has also sparked an interest in bread making, I love to bake bread it is so cathartic.

I used to love baking with semolina but sadly I can no longer tolerate it. My other regret is having to ditch spelt bread because it is not entirely gf.
It has a lovely nutty flavour and being low in gluten suits people who suffer from bloating.

merlotgran

I find the texture of gf and ordinary sourdough almost identical whereas regular bread and gf versions are different. Gf is drier and more crumbly and can sometimes have a chalky texture. A lot of recipes recommend adding an egg but you have to be careful not to end up producing bread flavoured cake!! If I ever need to add egg I only use the white.
Gf bread also takes longer to bake and the top longer to brown.

Sometimes it’s a labour of love! 😂

I once made a GF loaf (not SD) for a dinner guest, the recipe I used was American, it said to add mayonnaise.
I did and she stated it was the best she had ever had as it was not dry.

That’s interesting, Sago
because bread and mayo have always been good companions.
If I want to use up a slice of bread that’s a bit stale I spread mayo thinly on both sides then fry it. Crispy, brown and delicious!

Reminds me of the Blue Peter chocolate cake - secret ingredient was a jar of good mayonnaise!

GrannyGravy13

I’m with Sago on this if you order sourdough (or any other particular bread) that is what you should be served.

The waiting staff and/or kitchen have no idea if you have an allergy or intolerance to ingredients in other loaves.

I am what my Granny used to call a fussy fanny and if that happened to me they would lose my custom.

Agree. I think the 'chef' should have known better. GG sometimes fussy fannies know best.

I recently bought a Brod and Taylor baking shell, weighs 500g. I use that on a Brod and Taylor steel sheet. Times long gone, I used a very heavy cast iron Dutch oven.

I had to heat the dutch oven until it was extremely hot, the hottest my oven would get. That was accompanied by all the risks that went with the weight and the heat, the dutch oven had to be handled out of the oven before dropping the dough into it, then the dough had to be slashed with a lame, a device holding a very sharp razer blade

Real sourdough is what I grew up with, especially loving the black bread from Coopers in Liverpool

You can easily make a sd loaf in a loaf tin, putting another loaf tin on top to keep the steam in. I only have a basic fan oven, no good for sd baking, hence I need the baking shell or a dutch oven

re mayonnaise, funny that, youtube just threw up a video called 12 uk mayonnaise brands you must avoid

Most are ultra processed rubbish

When Zi was a child, my mother bought bread from a shop called I think Grodinsky’s in Hampstead. It was so delicious, rye bread, dark but not black or dense. It presumably was sour dough (such vocabulary unknown in the 50s) but it lasted well and made fantastic toast but my teeth were strong in those days. I have found no local baker, artisan or otherwise, that makes rye bread locally.

When I lived in an Eastern European communist country in the 60s, the best food was the dark rye bread sold in our corner bakers. It kept for ever and could be sliced so thinly. Any one here with a rye bread Recipe? I might have a go. Would you need a rye starter?

Yep!

It’s a guilty pleasure. Especially with chips! 😂😋

Gin

When Zi was a child, my mother bought bread from a shop called I think Grodinsky’s in Hampstead. It was so delicious, rye bread, dark but not black or dense. It presumably was sour dough (such vocabulary unknown in the 50s) but it lasted well and made fantastic toast but my teeth were strong in those days. I have found no local baker, artisan or otherwise, that makes rye bread locally.

When I lived in an Eastern European communist country in the 60s, the best food was the dark rye bread sold in our corner bakers. It kept for ever and could be sliced so thinly. Any one here with a rye bread Recipe? I might have a go. Would you need a rye starter?

No starter necessary.

I tried making the bread that someone put a receipe on GN for Greek yoghurt, SR flour and a pinch of salt it was lovely
15 mins tops and tasted just like nice bread

I’m with you sago on this I only buy SD either from MS or I buy Jason’s. It is expensive but I buy food to assist my gut biome.

I agree ! Like eating concrete !

Didn't know all this about sour dough!

You are being unreasonable.

The bread they provided is sourdough.

Maybe not like you make but that could be said about many things.

My advice? Don't eat out.

I like the flavour of sourdough, but I find the mostly round loaves a pain to cut, then try to fit into the toaster. Also, I have had a loaf or two that are so full of holes it makes it hard to make a sandwich with them.

We don't eat a lot of bread, but stick to a store bought whole wheat with no preservatives or colouring. We keep it in the freezer and take out slices as we need them.

Sago you are right the salt is only from the previous batch not added until later. Apologies. I was still focused on the ingredients of the loaf.
Coincidentally, my sourdough bread has no salt at all - but my husband's does.
No, you wouldn't add it to the Lievito Madre.

I've looked at how to make the starter, it seems to use a lot of flour - then you throw most away!

Sago, YANBU.

Allira

I've looked at how to make the starter, it seems to use a lot of flour - then you throw most away!

I freeze my discards then wake them up and use them in Naan breads and pizza bases. If they’re not very lively I add a teaspoon of baking powder.

BTW. Never pour discard down the sink. It sets like concrete and my friend had to get her drain professionally cleared. 😮

Sago

Monica Thank you for the reply, I love the science behind SD making so presumably the starter is active and full of bacteria just missing the gluten.

Are the loaves a similar texture?

Sago Next time you are in a supermarket pick up a loaf and read the list of ingredients, then think about the traditional loaf ingredients: flour yeast, water.

Any similarity between the two is pure coincidence, therefore the results of mixing the sour dough starter with the basic ingredients of real bread and mixing them with the variety of ingredients the chef in the caafe you were in. is bound to end with different results, with no guarantee that the false one will be good for your grstricc problems. The same with supermatket bread, again the gastric results of that compared with real bread will be ery different.

Bluebelle flour and water may make glue, but flour water and yeast makes bread, add eggs and sugar to flour and water and you get a cake. Add milk and an egg and you get a Yorkshire pudding or a pancake.

Masa harina, water, oil, salt. Gorgeous flatbread, I make often.

merlotgran

Allira

I've looked at how to make the starter, it seems to use a lot of flour - then you throw most away!

I freeze my discards then wake them up and use them in Naan breads and pizza bases. If they’re not very lively I add a teaspoon of baking powder.

BTW. Never pour discard down the sink. It sets like concrete and my friend had to get her drain professionally cleared. 😮

😲

Well, I wouldn't anyway, but good advice!

Norah I watched Rick Stein in Australia last night and he was with an Aboriginal woman out Bush, who has studied indigenous foods extensively. She picked native grass, the husks blew away and she then pounded it into flour with a stone. Then it was mixed with water and baked in a pot over a dpfor- the first forms of damper.

dpfor 🤔

Fire!