"Dick Adams" > wrote in
:

>
> "Roy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>
>> ... I have seen natural sourdoughs leavened with the
>> final dough flour to starter ratio of 55/45 and it really ferments
>> and proof really fast as if yeast was added; when the fact is ii was
>> just 100% naturally leavened! ...
>
> Aha!
>
> Could that be taken to mean that the "sponge" method can be applied
> to sourdough baking?
>

I have been making sourdough bread for several years exclusively using the
sponge method. Without it, I'd have to add some starter, then let the
bread sit and rise for a day in order to develop a tang when baked. By that
time, unless the temperature is quite cool, the yeast's rising power might
have become depleted before the dough enters the oven.

The point is that making the sponge allow the tang to develop, owing to
bacteria growth, and that must be balanced with the yeast's rising
potential.

Samartha's nicely documented tripling technique of growing a sourdough
sponge over day and night is one sponge method. Another is simply making a
huge batch of starter, stashing some of it to be used as future starter,
and using the rest with an equal weight of flour to make the loaf dough.
And of course, one might say that kneading a small amount of starter into
the dough, then letting it rise a long time, produces yet another kind of
sponge.

In the end, all risen bread is a sponge of some kind.

Gonorio