Charles Perry wrote:

> The simple or primary tastes provided by the tounge are salty,
> sour, sweet, bitter and with some dissent, meaty and hot (spicy
> hot).

The ultimate I've never heard of. The penultimate is referred to by the
Japanese as "umame." It's not 'meaty' per se, but "deeply pungent."

> Among the complex bread flavors you can discern
> nutty, wheaty, yeasty, caramel, and others all mellowed by a
> taste sensation of richness that has often nothing to do with any
> fat in the recipe.

Then again, some people have taste buds that even dogs can't hear.

> These minor flavors, minor in the sense that
> they are not amonng the primary tastes such as salt..., are more
> important than how sour a loaf may be.

I'll agree.

B/

> My observation is that in sourdough or commercial yeast
> procedures, the minor flavors are enhanced when the dough is
> developed over a longer period of time at a slower pace. In other
> words, the flour is wet longer. In sourdough, the primary flavor
> of sour is enhanced when the process is extended. By extended,
> here I mean in the case of gluten, further along in the process
> of creation to eventual destruction by the results of sourdough
> fermentation. This may or may not involve longer periods of
> time.
>
> It is certainly at least a plausable idea that different
> sourdough cultures might by way of producing different , or
> different ratios, of metabolic products, produce minor flavors
> that differ in kind or intensity. Complexity, if you will.
>
> Regards,
>
> Charles