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Posted to rec.food.sourdough
Dick Adams
 
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Default Thanks for everything, Carl, but...


"Trix" > wrote in message oups.com...

> [ ... ]


> I have wondered if it would help to add a little vinegar to the
> dough...


That would be an act of desperation.

Frequently people who do not succeed in the straightforward way
start trying all kinds of stuff. Sometimes, after that, they publish
books or post elaborate web sites. Some even start schools.

The simple, largely unknown, fact of sourdough is that it takes a while
for sourdough to sour. The corollary ignorance is of the fact that it is
the dough that must sour, and not the preferment.

After that comes the need for optimally-developed dough -- it must
hold together for the requisite long rise, and survive any necessary abuses
(punchdowns, deflations, reformations) required to keep the rise under
control, and handing, including the flip-flops, slashes, shoves, and thermal
shocks that most people seem to feel are required.

Eventually there comes the awareness that following the usual instructions
does not produce the desired result. After that, the available instructions
grow even more vacuous and sophistic. Like putting vinegar in dough.

So, thanks for everything, Carl, but when it comes to sourdough for the
masses, you never got beyond the start.

--
Dicky