S.F. Sourdough At Last!

What is the composition/hydration of your refrigerated storage starter? Is it AP or bread flour?

I used KA AP flour because my supermarket sells it in small sacks. That's not to say bread flour wouldn't work.

This is an interesting question. I would mix flour and water into a stiff dough and let it sit in my proofing box (an unused toaster oven with a thermostatically-controlled light bulb inside) at 86° F. In a couple of days it was liquid due to proteolysis — no longer a stiff dough — so I would mix in more flour to make a stiff dough and repeat this cycle for 14 days. Then it goes in the fridge. Why 14 days? In this video Erin McKenney says starters don't change much after 14 days and I wanted to make sure it was fully ripe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cbeKdqV_NY&t=797s

I also watched a video by Forkish where he keeps a refrigerated stiff starter and tries to have less discard than his previous formulations. No way can I refresh a stiff starter every 8 hours like Larraburu and the other big bakeries of the day used to do (Parisian, Colombo, Toscana, Pisano, etc.). They were baking 24/7 and used up the sponge right away without wasting tons of flour. Flour costs money and it would be bad business for them to throw away large quantities of flour.

What is the feeding regimen for the storage starter? Or,…Does the remainder of the sponge become the storage starter?

I take only as much refrigerated starter as needed to make the sponge, in this case 22.5 g, which proofs for 8 hours at 86° F.

I have to give a huge thanks to Doc.Dough for transcribing and posting the Larraburu process along with the process used by other bakeries. This has been my sourdough bible.

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17730/divine-inspirationfor-me-it-way-larraburu-brother039s-sf-sd-what-was-it-you#comment-176197

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17730/divine-inspirationfor-me-it-way-larraburu-brother039s-sf-sd-what-was-it-you#comment-177563

Here is where I veered from the original processes:

It says Larraburu used clear flour for the sponge and patent flour for the dough. I used AP flour throughout. I tried making starter with clear flour from bakers authority but I didn't like the way it turned out. I then had the bright idea to use white whole wheat flour for the starter because of the higher ash content and no joy. I actually baked a loaf with the white whole wheat sponge and it didn't have the San Francisco tanginess I was after. I suppose one could futz around with the sponge flour, but I know AP works and I imagine bread flour would, too. Many people have suggested adding some rye flour but I have always said "no way, Jose" because then it wouldn't be authentic SFSD.

Now for a confession. I made up my dough and put it in the proofing box. After 8 hours I took a nap, forgetting about my proofing dough. After my nap I checked on the dough, fully expecting to find liquid. To my shock and amazement the dough had NOT liquefied and was still cohesive, just a bit slack and perfectly bakeable. I was amazed that the dough did not liquefy after well more than 8 hours at 86° F. In the past I have had dough liquefy after too much proofing time, the difference being that it was not made using the sponge-and-dough method. I was just adding liquid starter from the fridge directly to the dough and it failed. The big breakthrough for me was to adhere to the two-step sponge-and-dough method. Note that the combined proofing time for sponge and dough is 16 - 17 hours. I am not using Larraburu's 4-hour proof at 105° F for fear that it would harm the microbes, so I used the other bakeries' 86° F proof.

What is the temperature of the bake? Do you use steam at all?

Instead of a Dutch oven I use a roasting pan which is much lighter in weight and I just love it to pieces. I also found an 8" round pizza stone which fits inside perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OFUB64U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IF2YNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A coating of corn meal prevents the dough from sticking to the stone. I give the dough a spritz of water and that's my steam. Bake at 375° F for 20 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for another 40 minutes, though I might reduce this time as my loaf turned out a bit dark. The crust is definitely crisp and crunchy.

I have sampled Boudin "sourdough" and detected a distinct vinegary flavor, which makes me suspect that they may be artificially souring their bread with vinegar, figuring the tourists on Fisherman's Wharf won't know the difference. This would cut down their proofing times so they could make more loaves per day.

I have also tried Acme sourdough. It has the authentic tanginess but significantly milder, which makes me think they either proof it for a shorter time or at a lower temperature. I'm told Steve Sullivan has never had Larraburu so he doesn't have it as a frame of reference. My brother knew Steve at UC Berkeley in the mid '70s. Larraburu went out of business in 1976.

I'll be very interested to hear the outcome of your efforts if you do try it. One modification I could see making is to give the dough a 30-minute autolyze before adding the salt and the sponge.

I could also try using bottled "mountain spring" water instead of our tap water which contains chloramine.

Good to know you have taken onboard the defined approach. Like you, I would shun the idea of having to add whole-wheat or rye flour to get extra sour.

I firmly believe that technique is one of the most overlooked aspects when it comes to sourdough baking.

Congratulations Chris.

Thank you, Michael.

It took a long time but I've learned that there is more to sourdough than merely combining ingredients. Using the sponge-and-dough method was a game changer.

Thanks again.