dmsnyder’s “San Francisco Style Sourdough” Made in San Francisco!

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GSnyde on 31 Mar 2012 at 20:27

I baked David’s “San Francisco Style Sourdough”.   I used the formula and procedure from his latest blog entry on the on-going experiment (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27982/san-franciscostyle-sourdough-bread-two-ways-3252012), except I did not retard the proofed loaves overnight.

The loaves are light in weight; crispy-crusted; with an almost perfect moist, airy crumb; the flavor is moderately sour and very nice.

These aren’t the best-looking loaves I’ve baked, on the outside.   But the crumb is real purdy.

Made a nice accompaniment to Chicken Salad.

Next time, I’ll retard the proofed loaves and see what it adds.

Thanks for all the effort on this, David.  Good bread.

I also baked a quick bread from Beth Henspergers Quick Breads book today—it’s a Pumpkin Gingerbread, with a spiced streusel topping.  Very moist and quite spicy (I added white pepper and candied ginger to her recipe).  Real good with Brandy butter, my new favorite dessert condiment. And since there's some whole wheat flour in it....it's healthy!

Glenn

and the crust looks fine,  but I love gingerbread. Your spiced sounds great with that streusel topping.  Just saying streusel makes my mouth water.

I'm happy it was good enough that you want to try it again with overnight retardation. 

Now, your crumb is very nice, but is it too nice to be authentic?

David

David-- The phrase "San Francisco Sourdough" brings to mind a very crusty loaf with a fairly tight, decidedly chewy crumb and a very sour flavor that overwhelms the taste of the wheat. It does not melt in the mouth. It's highest and best use is as a platform for Dungeness crab with horseradish sauce. Your formula makes very good bread, but if you were to slather horseradish sauce on it, the pores would absorb too much sauce and the delicate crab flavor would be obscured. Ergo (Latin for "in other words, what this all about is"), I prefer a San Francisco Sourdough that is made at lower hydration with Bread Flour. The best I've found is Reinhart's formula from Crust and Crumb, which you recommended to me, and for which I thank you again. All that being said, San Francisco is a very liberal town and very tolerant of the right to self-expression. So, if you want to call this delicious bread "San Francisco Sourdough", you will still be welcomed here. Glenn

Well, now. I'm thinking it's been too long since I have had a San Francisco Sourdough like your description - especially the part about Dungeness crab with horseradish sauce. It is clearly a remediable deficiency.

Who is currently baking bread that epitomizes your platonic ideal of SF SD?

BTW, I'm certainly no Latin scholar, but I believe "ergo" is better translated as "thus" or "therefore." For example, the famous saying René Descartes plagerized from his neighborhood boulanger, "Coquamus, ergo sum."

David

Ahh, the Ur-Loaf! Since Parisian Bakery went out of business, the sourdough bread that is closest to the old "Wharf Bread" is made by Boudin exclusively for Tadich Grill. It is what they call "dark bake". It is rumored that one can buy whole loaves from Tadich. The other bread that is easily available in the Bay Area and has the right flavor and crumb texture, but a softer crust, is Semifreddi's Sour Batard. I might get a loaf of that some time and crisp the crust in the oven. Come on by during crab season! Glenn
Toast

hansjoakim on 1 Apr 2012 at 00:04

Very nice, Glenn!

Finally a SF version of the SF sourdough! A true Chablis Grand Cru, Glenn :-)

Very attractive Sd boules , Glenn! The crumb looks really delicious.

The Pumpkin ginger bread looks delicious too!

Why is your bread base always paler than the top? do you prefer it as such?

 

Thanks for the comment, Khalid.

My old and wimpy oven has very uneven temperature.  Even when I preheat the stone for an hour, part of the time on broil, I get tan bottoms and brown tops.   Doesn't bother me much.  But I would love to get a new oven.

Glenn

Great baking and even better cooperation between the Snyder siblings.  And I think it should read: "Coquo, ergo sum furnus"

Syd