In message
news:mailman.1098856690.19532.rec.food.sourdough@w ww.mountainbitwarrior.c=
om
"Samartha" >

predictably took exception to my statement:

> > Sourness and flavor develop during the rise.

with the mention of the following linked conjectu
" Stage 1 is used to promote yeast and lactobacillus=20
multiplication, stage 2 for developing acid and stage 3=20
to develop all microorganisms." attributed to=20
Schuenemann/Treu, Technologie der Backwarenherstellung,=20
9th edition 1999, Gildebuchverlag Germany, 134
( http://samartha.net/SD/procedures/DM3/ )

and concluded as follows:

> Duh!

It is exciting to discover that the microorganisms know exactly
what to do according to the number of a particular stage.

Presumably those are organisms for rye sourdough, possibly
smarter than those that do doughs from white flour. The white-
flour kind just grow until they run out of pizzazz and get sour,
seeming to be relatively indifferent to minor variations in water=20
content and precise temperature.

The trick I use is not letting the stages run out of pizzazz and get
sour, until the last dough stage. Seems to work. At least for
white-wheat sourdough breads.

I have agreed that I do not precisely know what I mean by "sour"
since I do not have a pH meter in our kitchen. I crudely attempt
to measure it by taste, but degree and velocity of expansion are
more practical measures of fermentation progress.

--=20
Dick Adams
<firstname> dot <lastname> at bigfoot dot com