{"id":156558,"date":"2025-03-25T22:26:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T22:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/bread\/sweet-and-sour-sourdough-northwest-sourdough\/"},"modified":"2025-03-25T22:26:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T22:26:46","slug":"sweet-and-sour-sourdough-northwest-sourdough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=156558","title":{"rendered":"Sweet and Sour Sourdough \u2013 Northwest Sourdough"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s that time of year when lots of folks around the world are baking. We are heading into spring in this hemisphere and on the other side of the world they are heading into fall. Often in the summer many people give up baking for a while, so during summer half the world isn\u2019t as interested in baking as when it\u2019s cold (although we still have to eat!). It is more fun to fire up your oven when it\u2019s cool. It makes the house seem \u201chomey\u201d and inviting.<\/p>\n
Which gets me to the matter I wanted to talk about in this post, \u201csweet\u201d and \u201csour\u201d sourdough. Many bakers are still after the elusive, \u201cHow do I get my sourdough more sour?\u201d Or they want to know, \u201cHow do I keep my bread from being too sour?\u201d Some people like a sour bread, others don\u2019t. I have experimented for years with the sour in sourdough. I was strongly\u00a0informed that it was the low hydration dough kept cold that causes acetic acid to build up in dough. I read that a wet starter will make a dough more acidic, but with more of a lactic acidity. It\u2019s practically gospel that a low hydration dough, kept cold, will give you a sour bread. Well you know what? IT\u00a0DOESN\u201dT. It just doesn\u2019t work that way. I\u2019ve tried it over and over and over. A cold fermented dough gives you a great sweet tasting loaf of bread. Let\u2019s just admit it and quit with the \u201ccold, low hydration makes a sour loaf advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
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To get a great tasting \u201csour\u201d bread, this is what I\u2019ve found that works:<\/p>\n
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Warmer starter temperatures<\/li>\n
Warmer dough temperatures<\/li>\n
Dough with whole grains added<\/li>\n
Starters with whole grains added<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The opposite is true for making a \u201csweet\u201d or \u201cnon sour\u201d sourdough bread:<\/p>\n
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Cooler starter temperatures<\/li>\n
Cooler dough temperatures<\/li>\n
Starters without or with less whole grains or kept cooler<\/li>\n
Less whole grains in the dough and if you want to use whole grains and not have sour\u00a0bread, then keep your dough on the cooler side of things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can play around with hydration and how long to ferment as they also affect the flavor of the finished loaf but I find that temperature and grain type seem to matter the most. Of course many people will now take the warmer temperatures to extreme and overheat\u00a0their dough to a gooey hot mess. Don\u2019t do that. Experiment by starting at room temperatures 70-72F\/21-22C and work your way up.<\/p>\n
In my #9 course, which features extreme fermentation breads, I showcase \u201csweet\u201d breads and \u201csour\u201d breads and show\u00a0the method\u00a0to make each type. Okay, now that I\u2019m done with that rant, I would be happy to hear your feedback. Please comment below.<\/p>\n
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March is my birthday month. Each week in March I will discount a few of my online baking courses. \u00a0This week course #2,#3 and #4 are on sale for only $10.00 each. I will add more next week (come back and check): <\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Cranberry](\"http:\/\/www.northwestsourdough.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/cranwalnut_1_600-533x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"cranwalnut_2_600\"](\"http:\/\/www.northwestsourdough.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/cranwalnut_2_600-533x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"scoring10_600\"](\"http:\/\/www.northwestsourdough.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/scoring10_600-533x300.jpg\")
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