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Ok, deep breath. I have something to get off my chest.
Sour Dough is not a great bread for most purposes.
And you should stop baking it during quarantine.
Sour Dough is not a great bread for most purposes.
And you should stop baking it during quarantine.
It's overly chewy and the tanginess and crumb texture make it a bad sandwich bread most of the time. It's ok as toast, especially with some good butter. But most of the time there are much better alternatives.
I have some theories why it's so popular, especially in the US.
First off - US bread is terrible. And I say this as a Brit who thinks that, with a few notable exceptions, we don't really rank on the global bread charts.
First off - US bread is terrible. And I say this as a Brit who thinks that, with a few notable exceptions, we don't really rank on the global bread charts.
US bread is sweet and it's weirdly cakey. It is so chock full of preservatives that I once was away for three months and when I came back a half eaten loaf I had forgotten to throw out still look as fresh as when I'd left it.
That weirded me out.
That weirded me out.
I think there's also a nerdy science fair vibe to it. You make a starter and it's alive and starts bubbling because of airborne yeast.
The feeding of the starter also fulfils a weird quasi-spiritual need for rituals that I've noticed among millenials, especially in the Bay Area
The feeding of the starter also fulfils a weird quasi-spiritual need for rituals that I've noticed among millenials, especially in the Bay Area
(see also: house plants)
Thirdly, there's a masochism involved with making a sour bread that come from that bit of US culture that says "if something is good then more is BETTER. Moderation is for WIMPS and COMMIES". You see this in a lot of US foods.
For example: the humble IPA. A delicious, nutty ale that's perfectly drinkable but a little sharper than a regular bitter.
Not in the US though.
Not in the US though.
In the US that means ramping up hops to extreme levels: "We're going to early hop it, late hop it and then, while you're drinking it, someone is going to FLAY you with hops before finally giving you a HOP ENEMA"
[ FX a bald eagle caws in the distance ]
[ FX a bald eagle caws in the distance ]
This is why you gets beers like "Hop Overdrive", "Hopmagedden" "Hop-pocalypse" and "Hop Monster".
(I just made those up and have no idea if those actually exist but would it surprise you if they did?)
(I just made those up and have no idea if those actually exist but would it surprise you if they did?)
(Update: I checked - those are all actual real beers)
San Francisco prides itself on its coffee - except it's mostly bad! It's burnt and bitter. It's the Pure Breed dog of pets - one particular facet of something lovely magnified to grotesque levels, beyond reasonableness just so that it can be "the most".
So, in conclusion, stop making sour dough - it's baking masturbation. Try making one of the many, many other styles of bread out there - ciabatta, the perfect baguette, Hokkaido milk bread, dark Eastern European rye.
You'll be shocked at how easy it is to make mind blowing Naan.
You'll be shocked at how easy it is to make mind blowing Naan.
So, in conclusion, stop making sour dough - it's baking masturbation. Try making one of the many, many other styles of bread out there - ciabatta, the perfect baguette, Hokkaido milk bread, dark Eastern European rye.
You'll be shocked at how easy it is to make mind blowing Naan.
You'll be shocked at how easy it is to make mind blowing Naan.
