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My newest obsession is sourdough bread.
It only comprises four ingredients – flour, water and salt (a crucial fourth ingredient being time that does the magic in creating and nurturing the wild yeast). What’s exciting is that with just these four ingredients, the results can be wildly different based on technique, quality of flour and temperature. Every baker has their ideal loaf that they are chasing, and for me, it’s a crisp crust, light aerated and shiny interior, and a faintly sour flavour.
Tartine Bread (USA |UK | India) is what got me hooked on sourdough bread making many years ago. I must admit its instructions are rather verbose, which scared me off initially. Each time I took the courage to open up the pages,…
View Full Recipe at Purple Foodie
.%20What%E2%80%99s%20exciting%20is%20that%20with%20just%20these%20four%20ingredients,%20the%20results%20can%20be%20wildly%20different%20based%20on%20technique,%20quality%20of%20flour%20and%20temperature.%20Every%20baker%20has%20their%20ideal%20loaf%20that%20they%20are%20chasing,%20and%20for%20me,%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20crisp%20crust,%20light%20aerated%20and%20shiny%20interior,%20and%20a%20faintly%20sour%20flavour.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETartine%20Bread%20(USA%20%7CUK%20%7C%20India)%20is%20what%20got%20me%20hooked%20on%20sourdough%20bread%20making%20many%20years%20ago.%20I%20must%20admit%20its%20instructions%20are%20rather%20verbose,%20which%20scared%20me%20off%20initially.%20Each%20time%20I%20took%20the%20courage%20to%20open%20up%20the%20pages,%20I%E2%80%99d%20start%20reading%20the%20method%20and%20just%20put%20the%20book%20away.%20It%20didn%E2%80%99t%20help%20that%20I%20was%20living%20in%20France%20and%20skipping%20downstairs%20to%20the%20local%20boulangeries%20was%20a%20lot%20easier%20than%20executing%2020%20pages%20of%20instructions.%20But%20then%20the%20move%20to%20London%20happened,%20and%20the%20thought%20of%20consuming%20white%20sliced%20bread%20petrified%20me.%20I%20was%20scared%20I%E2%80%99d%20never%20eat%20bread%20made%20with%20heritage%20grains%20and%20chestnut%20flour,%20or%20buttery%20loaves%20dotted%20with%20walnuts.%20With%20the%20book%20sitting%20on%20my%20kitchen%20table,%20I%20created%20my%20starter,%20fed%20it%20like%20a%20pet,%20baked%20numerous%20loaves%20and%20tracked%20all%20of%20my%20observations%20and%20tribulations%20on%20a%20little%20bread%20blog%20I%20created%20to%20document%20the%20process%20along%20with%20my%20many%20of%20my%20visits%20to%20the%20bakeries%20in%20Paris.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMy%20first%20loaves,%20although%20edible,%20were%20dense%20and%20nothing%20like%20the%20loaves%20of%20Paris%20I%20kept%20comparing%20them%20with.%20To%20remedy%20that,%20I%20got%20myself%20Parisian%20baker,%20Eric%20Kayser%E2%80%99s%20Larousse%20Bread%20(USA%20%7CUK%20%7C%20India).%20The%20step-by-step%20photography%20is%20reassuring%20with%20a%20wide%20spectrum%20of%20breads%20covered%20through%20the%20book.%20The%20instructions%20are%20to%20the%20point%20which%20works%20well%20for%20those%20who%20want%20to%20make%20breads%20without%20being%20distracted%20by%20lengthy%20narratives.%20Kayser%20does%20use%20a%20tiny%20quantity%20of%20yeast%20to%20lift%20the%20bread%20and%20shorten%20fermentation%20time,%20yet%20retain%20quality%20flavour%20and%20texture.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWith%20each%20loaf,%20I%20continued%20working%20on%20my%20technique,%20researching%20methods%20by%20learning%20from%20some%20of%20the%20best%20sourdough%20bakeries%20in%20London%20and%20making%20friends%20with%20bakers%20in%20Paris.%20But%20even%20when%20I%20finally%20achieved%20something%20noteworthy,%20the%20obsession%20to%20keep%20getting%20better%20never%20ceases.To%20feed%20this%20obsession,%20I%20devour%20books%20on%20the%20subject%20by%20authors%20from%20around%20the%20globe,%20each%20week%20tinkering%20with%20my%20techniques%20slightly.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESourdough%20bread%20takes%20time%20and%20a%20fair%20amount%20of%20understanding%20before%20one%20can%20begin%20mixing%20together%20ingredients.%20Although%20the%20inputs%20are%20straightforward,%20the%20series%20of%20stages%20in%20the%20sourdough%E2%80%99s%20life%20involves%20meticulous%20care.%20I%E2%80%99m%20currently%20reading%20Flour%20Water%20Salt%20Yeast%20by%20Ken%20Forkish%20(USA%20%7CUK%20%7C%20India)%20to%20revise%20my%20technique%20and%20learn%20another%20baker%E2%80%99s%20perspective%20on%20baking.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnother%20bread%20book%20on%20my%20shelf%20worth%20a%20mention%20is%20Tartine%20Bread%20No.%203.%20(USA%20%7CUK%20%7C%20India)%20It%20is%20based%20on%20the%20same%20techniques%20as%20the%20previous%20book%20by%20Chad%20Robertson,%20but%20pays%20more%20attention%20to%20exploring%20ancient%20wheat%20and%20alternative%20grains%20in%20an%20attempt%20to%20blend%20and%20layer%20flavours%20instead%20of%20using%20only%20a%20single%20variety%20of%20a%20grain.%20It%20may%20not%20be%20suited%20to%20Indian%20baking%20because%20it%E2%80%99s%20hard%20to%20find%20the%20varieties%20of%20flours%20in%20the%20market,%20but%20nonetheless%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20lesson%20in%20pushing%20beyond%20the%20norm.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EGet%20any%20of%20the%20books%20and%20read%20them%20over%20a%20few%20times%20before%20you%20bring%20out%20the%20flour.%20Use%20scales.%20Learn%20the%20science.%20And%20most%20importantly%20%E2%80%93%20stay%20obsessed!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20story%20was%20first%20published%20for%20The%20Hindu,%20for%20which%20I%20write%20a%20monthly%20column.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}