San Francisco-Style Sour Bread

San Francisco-Style Sour Bread

They don't make sourdough bread like they used to — not even in San Francisco! The city used to be renowned for its sourdough bread as far back as the California gold rush of 1849. I call this recipe "sour bread" because it does not use a traditional sourdough culture. It would thus be misleading to call it "sourdough".

None of the present-day sourdough breads I have sampled in the San Francisco area — none of them — comes close to the old-school sourdoughs from bakeries such as Larraburu, Parisian, Colombo, Toscana, Baroni, Pisano, etc. Home bakers make bread using home-grown sourdough cultures, but the finished product usually misses the mark. The bread is usually not as tangy as the now-extinct legacy breads.

Through the years, San Francisco sourdough has been closely studied by microbiologists and food scientists. The microorganisms that produce the acids that give the bread its tangy flavor are well known.

The two main souring agents in San Francisco sourdough bread are acetic acid and lactic acid. This recipe is for a yeasted bread to which the baker adds acetic and lactic acids. The result is a sour bread which is very close in flavor to traditional San Francisco sourdough.

A loaf of traditional sourdough bread takes a long time to make due to the long proofing times required for the starter and the bread dough. Because this recipe uses baker's yeast, the proofing time is greatly reduced.

These directions are for one small loaf or boule. You can make a larger bâtard simply by doubling the ingredients.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
A digital scale
White vinegar
Liquid lactic acid
An eyedropper
White flour
Water
Salt
Instant or "rapid rise" yeast
A sharp blade
An electric mixer is helpful but is not required.
Some knowledge of artisan baking techniques is helpful.

IMPORTANT!!! Do not use "active dry" yeast. Make sure the yeast is "instant" or "rapid rise". If Fleischmann's yeast is used, look for the bright yellow packets.

It is important to measure the ingredients as precisely as possible. In addition to a digital scale, I use an eyedropper to measure the vinegar and lactic acid.

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Combine the following ingredients in a mixer bowl:
146 grams flour
88 grams water
(Optional) 1/2 teaspoon diastatic malt powder

Mix flour, water and malt powder to the "shaggy" stage. All of the flour should be wet. Let rest (autolyze) for 30 minutes.
Add the following ingredients:
3.5 g Instant dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
10.2 g White vinegar
0.24 g liquid lactic acid 88%
Mix until a dough ball forms.
Place the dough ball on a towel or flax linen cloth and allow to proof for 3 hours in a warm place.
Using a sharp knife or blade, cut some slits in the top crust, about 1/4 inch deep. These slits allow the crust to expand while baking.

Bake at 375° to 425° F for one hour. You can steam the oven prior to baking by placing a shallow pan of water in the oven as it heats up, or bake in a Dutch oven or roasting pan.

During baking, the slits you have cut into the crust will open up. This is an indication of oven spring, or the degree to which the yeast has raised the bread.

VERY IMPORTANT: It is important to let the loaf cool completely after baking. This will take some time, anywhere from one-half to one hour. The flavor is still developing as the bread cools, so for the best flavor it is important to allow the loaf to cool completely.

THE RECIPE IN BAKER'S PERCENTAGES

Ingredient	Baker's percentage:	Grams boule:	Grams bâtard:
Flour	100%	146	292
Water	60%	88	176
Salt	2%	3	6
Instant Yeast	2.4%	3.5	7
Diastatic malt powder		1/2 tsp	1 tsp
Lactic acid (liquid, 88%)	0.164%	0.24	0.48
White Vinegar	7%	10.2	20.4
Total Dough Weight		250.9	501.8
Hydration	60.3%

GARLIC BREAD: Combine one clove of crushed garlic with 1 stick (1/4 pound) of softened butter or margarine. Cut the bread into slices and spread with garlic butter. Optionally, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Toast in your still-warm oven at 350 degrees F (this may be done in lieu of allowing the loaf to cool completely), or you may toast the bread under the broiler.

© Copyright Chris Clementson