The wicks are turning, the millstones are grinding and the perfume of fresh-milled wheat…
Whether my first word really was mill, I still wonder. However, my parents continue to persevere … Maybe they are right: a visit to flour mill ‘’De Roode Leeuw” in Gouda was always like magic to me. A bicycle bag full of ground wheat and spelt, mill cookies and the smile of miller Willem.
I was spoiled. Spoiled with, in my eyes, the best bread that existed. Willem grinded the grain, mama baked sourdough bread and I was allowed to help. The road from grain to bread was something amazing to me and I drove over it! And I still do that, because half a year ago I exchanged my permanent job as an engineer in flood risk management for a life in the world of grain.
When I was 18, I started as an assistant cook in Trattoria Borgo d’Aneto and fell in love with the Italian cuisine. It was great to learn there, but I noticed that my hunger for good bread came back again. I wanted to go back to the base, back to mom’s sourdough bread and learn the art behind it.
In the summer of 2012 I became acquainted with the Neapoletan pizza at Osteria Per Bacco (Piemonte): an airy, cloud-like edge resembling the best French baguette and a super thin base. I asked for the secret, learned the art on the spot from Maestro Pizzaiolo Domenico Martucci and deepened my knowledge about sourdough bread at bakers in the Netherlands, Italy and France.
It struck me that many bakers still use yeast to support their proofing process. I wanted to get rid of that. Long evenings, countless dough tests: I developed my own recipes to be able to fully work with my own sourdough.
Baking with sourdough is wonderful, but the crafts of farmer and miller are at least as beautiful to me. From this passion, I have been working for several years now with the grains from the Wieringermeer-area, in the North of Holland. These are milled at a stone’s throw from my workbench by Vincent Kraan, miller of Maalderij de Gouden Engel. The wheat flour of “lavett”, a soft wheat that grows well on the local sea clay, lends itself perfectly to sourdough bread with an open structure.
My passion for sourdough bread, Neapoletan pizza and the road from sprout to crumb bring me to the most beautiful places. From ancient grains cultivated on Dutch soil to visiting organic mountain-rye farmers in the Dolomites: I love grain. Now I write my book, I recently helped to start a sourdough pizzeria and I give workshops and consultancy in that where my heart is.
Davide Longoni, one of my favorite Italian boulangers, once taught me that you have to “talk” with your grain. “The type, the soil, the weather: learn to understand it”. With this attitude I started working with the stone-ground flour of lavett wheat from the Wieringermeer two years ago. No particularly high protein percentage, but the taste is overwhelming. With my recipe I now give workshops sourdough bread baking in the mill, under the wicks and it’s a pleasure to share it with you here.
Recipe for Vincent’s Dutch soil sourdough
Per loaf, for a hydration of about 65%. I suggest you make dough for at least two or three, large doughs develop better in my opinion. Please note that kneading times are very short. This is due to the different type of wheat and to minimize oxidation and so keep the taste of the grain as good as possible.
| Dutch soil sourdough |
|---|
| Ingredients for 1 loaf |
|---|
| 390 | g | Organic stone-ground flour from Dutch soil |
| 246 | g | water |
| 8 | g | salt |
| 35 | g | Liquid sourdough (active) |
How to make the bread
- Mix the water with 290 g of flour and sourdough starter;
- Cover your bowl and let rest for half an hour;
- Mix the salt and remaining flour;
- Knead for about 2-5 minutes, no longer! The dough will look underdeveloped, but longer kneading will cause excessive oxidation;
- Leave the dough for half an hour, perform two stretch- and folds;
- Leave the dough for another two hours and perform two stretch-and folds;
- Give the dough a bulk rise for about 10-12 hours, until it has doubled in size (depending on room temperature, mine varies throughout the day);
- Shape your dough and proof it in a round basket. The proofing will take around 3 hours, based on a proofing temperature of 23 degrees Celsius;
- Alternatively you can use the retarding method, first proof 30 minutes at room temperature to kick start, then 12 to 18 hours proofing in the fridge;
- Bake in a cast-iron pan of about 25 cm in diameter on 250 degrees Celsius, lid on the pan. The baking will be around 30-35 minutes, depending on how you like your crust.
- If you want a darker crust, remove the lid after 30 minutes and continue for a maximum of 10 minutes at 235-240 degrees Celsius.
More on Vincent, his workshops and other activities. Go to http://www.vincentvanderwolf.com/
FAQs
1) use a lower protein flour, like all-purpose, 2) push the bulk fermentation time / rise, longer, 3) add a higher percentage of whole wheat flour, 4) de-gas the loaf when shaping. Under-proofing a loaf will also create a more closed crumb but that is undesirable.
What is a San Francisco loaf? ›
San Francisco style sourdough bread is basically a French bread made with a sourdough culture characteristic of San Francisco. Many people, especially those in San Francisco, like to believe that this bread can be made no where other than San Francisco.
Is rye flour better for sourdough starter? ›
Rye Speeds Up Sourdough Fermentation- Rye flour is a great choice to add to your sourdough starter if you want to see activity and rise in a shorter period of time.
Can you make San Francisco sourdough outside of San Francisco? ›
Lactobacillus is found all over the world so even if you live 5,000 miles from San Francisco you have no excuses for not making a great SF sourdough. Really what it's all about is controlling the time and temperature of your fermentation. In general, the longer we ferment our dough the more sour it becomes.
What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›
Top 10 Tips & Tricks for Making Sourdough
- Use your sourdough starter at its peak. ...
- Moisten the surface of the dough before baking for more rise. ...
- Handle with care: be gentle with your dough. ...
- Use sifted flour to make your sourdough less dense. ...
- Soak your flour beforehand for a lighter loaf. ...
- Just add water for softer sourdough.
Sourdough crumb should be even, meaning there won't be any areas that are super tight or with giant tunnels. The crumb should be light and fluffy - not wet and gummy. The holes inside the sourdough may seem shiny. This is a sign that the gluten is very well developed.
What is the difference between sourdough bread and San Francisco sourdough bread? ›
However, San Francisco sourdough tends to be more sour, aerated and chewy than other types. All sourdough bread is leavened with a starter prepared by spontaneous fermentation of a mixture of flour and water. Large-scale commercial sourdough usually has extra yeast added to speed up production.
What state makes the best sourdough bread? ›
"Everybody says 'there's nothing like San Francisco sourdough bread,' and you know, they are absolutely right," says Ofiesh. "San Francisco sourdough bread is the epitome of sourdough bread.
Why does San Francisco sourdough taste different? ›
“San Francisco sourdough as a bread style has a characteristically tangy flavour profile,” he said, “which is really due to the acetic acid (another acid that forms during fermentation).” Yet its flavour profile has more recently shifted to something much milder, with many bakers (Baker included) balancing the bread's ...
Can I use tap water for sourdough starter? ›
*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.
Whole wheat flour is an excellent choice for creating a sourdough starter due to its nutrient-rich composition and potential for fostering a robust microbial community. However, it's important to note that the quality of whole wheat flour can vary between brands.
Which flour is best for sourdough starter? ›
The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.
What is the best flour for San Francisco sourdough bread? ›
A sourdough culture based on rye flour is easier to maintain, it does not transform into a slurry when you forget about it, it is easier to stir because it has almost no gluten and it smells very very nice, a bit like fruit. I maintain the starter as a 'almost' stiff starter.
What is the name of the famous sourdough bread in San Francisco? ›
San Francisco Sourdough™
Since 1849, Boudin Bakery has been the home of a San Francisco classic. The bread that began with the gold rush—local flavor and history baked into every loaf.
What city has the best sourdough bread? ›
San Francisco is widely regarded as the mecca of sour-style bread, though that reputation really has more to do with the culture of bread baking, the high concentration of great bakers, and the stiff competition than any sort of magical bread-baking climate (despite occasional claims to the contrary).
How to get perfect crust on sourdough bread? ›
Creating the perfect steamy, hot environment is essential to getting a rich, dark sourdough crust. As a home baker, using a Dutch Oven is the easiest and most consistent way to create the steamy environment needed to bake great sourdough bread.
How do you judge sourdough crumbs? ›
Some sourdough breads can be denser in texture, but they should not be wet or gummy. A sourdough loaf made with 500g of good quality bread flour, 50g to 100g of sourdough starter, left to ferment for adequate time, will produce a light, airy loaf with a lacy, open crumb that is not wet or dense in any way.
Why is my sourdough crumb not airy? ›
One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees. If it's a lot colder, the process will be much slower.
What is the key to open crumb sourdough? ›
Your path to an open crumb
An open loaf is the sum of all parts: great quality flour, sufficient dough hydration, strong fermentation, gentle dough handling, and a full proof.
