Sourdough Bread
“Wild-yeast leavened wheat loaf — flour, water, salt, no commercial yeast. Tangy crumb, blistered crust, 18-24h fermented.”
Where it comes from
Wild-yeast leavening predates Egypt, but the American sourdough lineage is San Francisco — Boudin Bakery, founded 1849 by Isidore Boudin in the Gold Rush, still uses a mother starter from that decade. Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, isolated in 1971 at the USDA Albany lab, gives the city loaf its acetic bite.
On the plate
Mahogany ear-blistered crust that crackles when squeezed, open irregular crumb with translucent webs, sour-tangy on the finish. Steam during the first 10 minutes is what lifts that ear. Slice thick for toast; thin slices flop.
How it works
Two ferments running together: wild yeast (Saccharomyces, Candida) makes the lift; lactobacilli make the acid. A 75-78°F bulk for 4-5h plus a 12-18h cold retard at 38°F is the modern Tartine playbook — the cold leg is where flavor depth and crumb structure both develop.
Chad Robertson's 2010 Tartine Bread reset the American home-baker bar to 75-80% hydration. A loaf weighed 1.8% salt, hydration to 78%, bulk-fermented to 30% rise is the canonical Tartine country loaf.
Variations
San Francisco style (sour-forward, L. sanfranciscensis dominant); Tartine country loaf (Chad Robertson, 75% hydration, 10% whole wheat); Vermont's Jeffrey Hamelman style at King Arthur (drier, 68%, more wheaty); Pain au levain (French pure-sourdough, milder).
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
6 steps · Show ↓935 min active · 645 min waiting
How it's made
6 steps · Show ↓- 1300 min
Build levain: 50 g starter + 100 g flour + 100 g water; rest 4–6 hr.
- 235 min
Mix levain with 800 g bread flour, 540 ml water, 18 g salt; autolyse 30 min then add salt.
- 3240 min
Bulk ferment 4 hr with stretch-and-folds every 30 min.
- 4900 min
Shape into a boule; cold-proof in banneton 12–18 hr.
- 545 min
Bake 250 °C covered Dutch oven 20 min, then uncovered 200 °C 25 min until dark.
- 660 min
Cool 1 hr on rack before slicing.
