On 2021-03-01 5:15 p.m., Boron Elgar wrote:
> On Mon, 1 Mar 2021 16:24:23 -0700, Graham > wrote:
>
>> On 2021-03-01 12:09 p.m., Boron Elgar wrote:
>>> On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 22:06:02 -0700, Graham > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2021-02-28 5:02 p.m., Boron Elgar wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Ran into this online about sourdough blistering. Now I get to poke
>>>>> around and see if it makes sense.
>>>>>
>>>>> "This is because acidic conditions created by sourdough breaks down
>>>>> the gluten near the surface. As the bread bakes, steam is created and
>>>>> it escapes through mini-chimneys all throughout the crust where the
>>>>> gluten has been weakened. Those mini-chimneys end up looking like
>>>>> blisters."
>>>>>
>>>>> https://wheatbeat.com/blisters/
>>>>>
>>>> My teachers at the local Alliance Française told me that they did not
>>>> like N.American style sourdough. The French equivalent, pain uu levain,
>>>> has a more subtle flavour, probably because the levain is kept at ~60%
>>>> hydration rather than the 100% hydration typical of sourdoughs. ISTR
>>>> that the high hydration favours the acid.
>>>> Therefore French boulangers see the blisters as a fault.
>>>
>>>
>>> Are these levains mixed for each bake and based on a mother starter,
>>> so that the mother starter is kept at 60%? Or are these levains
>>> started with a bit of commercial yeast? I have seen both types
>>> referenced.
>>>
>>> I bet the hydration of the final dough and the length of proof have
>>> some influence on it, too.
>>>
>> I certainly think the length of proof has an influence on the "tang".
>> AIUI, the French use lower hydrations as their flour is softer. A
>> Belgian baker set up in Calgary some years ago and he told me he had a
>> helluva job adjusting his recipes to Alberta flour. He told me that he
>> had to add a lot more water than he had in Belgium with the softer flours.
>> It used to be that the standard, and government mandated, recipe for
>> bread in France was 100:60:2:2 in bakers' percentages.
>> I'm not sure about whether it is standard practice in France to add
>> yeast to their pain au levain. However, there is a video of a baker in
>> the Poilâne basement preparing the dough for the famous miche and he
>> adds yeast.
>> I'll have to get the Appolonia Poilâne book from the library because I
>> think the recipe she quotes has yeast. I'll have to see if Calvel has
>> anything on the subject.
>
>> Dammit, there is so much folklore involving SD!!
>
> I've no compunctions about tossing in a bit of yeast if I think there
> is some reason for it. One of my favorite deli ryes sometimes gets a
> sprinkle, as I do not always have a blossoming rye starter if I decide
> I want to make some the next day or so.
>
> I have not opened my Clavel in so many years, I am not even sure where
> it is now. I wonder if I even have it.....
>
Here is my review of Appolonia Poilâne's book from the local library
website:
"If you are a keen bread baker then theres not that much here for you.
Indeed, the 1, 2 and 3 star reviews at Amazon pretty well summarize its
shortcomings, even though it is an attractive volume.
There are only 6 bread recipes (2 "SD", 2 rye, pain de mie and brioche)
3 gluten free loaves, some cake and pie recipes and, it seems, a lot for
dishes using bread or breadcrumbs. The recipe for the famous "Punition"
cookie is given and there are instructions on how to make cultured butter.
The recipe for the famous miche starts with making the levain with some
yoghurt in the recipe and then puts yeast in the final mix. This despite
the fact that Appolonia has stated elsewhere that it is a naturally
leavened bread.
I have eaten the walnut bread from the London branch and I have tried to
duplicate it without much success. Here she gives the proportion of nuts
to the standard dough so that might prove helpful. However, the walnut
loaves that I bought appear to have contained a much higher proportion
of nuts."