Hacker News Reader

Comment by rhcom2 | Hacker News Reader

That is an absolutely incredible combination of food and history. How did you like the results?

The starter was great but it's just sourdough starter. My palette is not refined enough to taste the difference between various sourdough cultures. Use the instructions in OP's link and it will probably be just as good. I think it's neat to have a starter from a place that's special to you. You could make one in your hometown, or in a favorite vacation spot, a place famous for its sourdough (like San Francisco), etc.

Here in Germany many people trade starters across villages. It would be interesting to have a scientific study on the differences. Maybe there is different bacteria/yeast in the different villages?

The type of flour and the temperature it’s kept at make the most difference imho. You can notice a change in the smell as seasons change.

That would be really interesting to have in the recipes as well. Did you conduct any A/B tests?

More or less - bulking up the starter and putting it in the fridge (7 degrees) but leaving some in a new batch of bread at 2o degrees. If you try bulking up a starter with high grade white flour you notice a difference pretty fast too.

The yeast isn't just different between villages, it's different from street to street.

Wild yeast is everywhere, and very different from place to place. To my understanding a little jar of one culture stands no chance against the evolutionary pressures outside it, so within a week or two an imported starter will return to whatever yeast exist in that specific area.

Trading across villages would be a really good way to keep 'new' flavours coming in :)

Sourdough cultures are not only about how they produce taste directly but also about how the yeast and bacteria interact and how quickly they grow. For example, yeast that grows faster will produce different results than yeast that grows slower. It depends on you whether you want fast or slow rise times.

For example, I prefer slower rise times, my doughs frequently ferment at room temperature for 24 and even up to 48 hours in extreme cases and still produce nice bread.

I do this for aroma but also for convenience. I like to be able to shape the dough in the evening and don't worry about it and put it in the oven in the morning. It grows so slowly that it can easily accommodate few hours of change in schedule or 1 or 2 digrees shift in temperature.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com