Sourdough bread making became popular during the recent lockdown, as people sought satisfying and purposeful things to do. This popularity reveals another ‘pandemic’ i.e., misinformation which undermines and distorts a beneficial new interest. This bread is non-other than the historic bread which, although a little laborious, is easy to make.
Never in history have consumers had such a plethora of information at their fingertips yet never have they been so misinformed!
The media must take its share of blame by not scrutinising resources for accuracy and relevance.
Ever since the risen bread was discovered by the Egyptians in 2500 BC, it has been routinely made following the same universal bread recipe: flour, starter, water and salt. This is the daily bread of the Bible which was made in every household. They kept their own starter and made bread weekly or fortnightly.
Two words from the British aristocracy have their origin in bread: “lord” (loaf-keeper) and “lady” (loaf-kneader)
I started making ‘sourdough bread’ in the early 1980s, with many frustrating failures. My epiphany came when I realised that the bread I was unsuccessfully trying to make, was none other than the millennia-old bread of my childhood. I then started interviewing older Greek, Italian and German migrants, some of whom demonstrated their bread making process to me. Also, when I visited my 85-year-old mother back in Cyprus and asked her how she made bread she was astonished that her youngest son, who had never shown an interest in cooking, was keen to learn this art. She happily rolled up her sleeves and demonstrated the know-how. After mixing all the ingredients in the trough, she said, “Give the dough a rest”.
I wasn’t sure whether this rest was for the dough or her. In fact, this resting allows for better absorption of the water, making the kneading easier.
Traditional dough starter
The starter (also called leaven or prozimi in Greek) is created by dissolving two or three tablespoons of natural flour in sufficient water to make a soft dough. It is covered with a tea towel and placed in a warm place.
After three or four days, bubbles will be created indicating that fermentation is taking place. Water and flour are then added and mixed to double the initial size of the dough. This process is repeated a few times (always waiting until the dough has risen). After about four feedings the starter will be mature and strong enough to use. Thereafter, a piece of the dough (stored in a dry and cool place) is kept for the next bread making. Further maturity takes place with each round of use.
In Greece, water for the making of the starter was collected by placing a bowl on the roof of the house during the second autumn rainfall or by taking holy water from the church on Holy Cross Day (14 September). Apparently, wild yeast in the atmosphere must be optimal at these times.
The name sourdough was introduced at the end of the 19th century; Californian miners are credited for this name change.
Dough preparation
The night before bread making (one or two days earlier in cold weather) the starter is activated by dissolving it in water and feeding it with flour to make a dough – one eighth of the size of the dough you intend to make. The following day, the risen dough is combined with the flour, water and salt in a large wooden trough and mixed for a stiff or soft dough. It is kneaded well and covered for the first rising which takes about 3-5 hours, depending on weather – shorter in summer, longer in winter. The dough is then shaped into loaves and covered for the second rising which takes about two hours – shorter in summer longer in winter. Occasionally, olive oil and other ingredients are added to a small piece of the dough to make speciality breads e.g., olives or cheese bread.
The traditional wooden troughs are ideal for breadmaking – they keep the dough warm.
After the loaves have risen, they are baked in a pre-heated oven 210ºC for about an hour – longer for larger and wholemeal loaves. The loaves are ready when, tapped underneath, they produce a deep hollow sound, or, by inserting a knife into the loaf. If the knife comes out clean, the loaves are ready. If not, they are baked longer.
Fresh bread develops its best flavour on the second day after baking – a flavour that will last another two or three days. When the bread eventually becomes hard, it is dipped into food juices or water. Traditionally, plain bread was eaten with every meal – without spreads and without toasting. Bread, together with vegetables and legumes, were the pillars of the healthy Mediterranean diet.
The traditional bread tastes and stores well and it is rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Modern developments
In the mid-nineteenth century, two discoveries revolutionised bread making: a) strong and fast-acting manufactured yeast was created to replace the slow but quality traditional starter; b) fast roller mills have replaced the traditional millstones for grinding the grain.
These inventions enabled the production of low-cost bread and, for the first time in history, the masses were able to afford white bread – historically the bread of the wealthy and privileged. Interestingly, today’s white bread is made even whiter by chemically bleaching the flour. Modern white bread is a far cry from the historic ‘white’ loaf which was more ‘wholemeal’ than today’s ‘wholemeal bread.’
While bread, for thousands of years, was a pillar of the healthy Mediterranean diet, modern bread is regarded as fattening and a source of allergies!
A major drawback of roller milling is that after removing the very nutritious embryo of the grain, which is used elsewhere in the health food industry, the grain is usually broken down into several components. Millers combine individual components to make ‘white flour’, ‘bakers flour’, ‘wholemeal flour’ and other. A standard modern loaf of bread is made from flour with about a 75 per cent extraction rate and with only 50 per cent of the grain’s vitamins retained. To make up for the loss of flavour and nutrients, modern bread often contains numerous additives including fats, milk, gluten, eggs, sugar, malt extract and bread improvers.
The longer rising of the traditional dough resulted in better bioavailability of calcium, zinc and iron.
With all these developments and changes it is no wonder that the architect of the famous Lyon Diet Heart Study, Michel de Lorgeril, had strong words to say:
– Over the past 50 years, thousands of new strains have made it to the human commercial food supply chain without a single effort at safety testing. ….The bread we eat today is definitely not the bread our grandparents ate. ….
– For some experts, the gluten and wheat hypersensitivity syndromes observed in recent times are definitely the consequences of modern wheat types. However, scientific evidence is lacking. This is a critical issue and clinical studies are urgently needed.
Modern highly processed and refined bread is falsely and deceptively called ‘bread’!
– The generic term ‘bread’ is nowadays reserved for highly refined, processed, spongy and tasteless bread. It often requires toasting which compromises its B-group vitamins – broken down by the intense radiant heat and it may lead to carcinogenic compounds if the bread is burned, as often is the case; it is also calorie-rich from the customary spreads of butter and jam. To get the traditional bread, one must ask for ‘sourdough bread’ and even then, it is not certain it will be the genuine traditional loaf.
The term ‘sourdough bread’ was initially introduced in good faith to distinguish it from modern highly refined and processed bread.
Unlike the historic bread, modern sourdough bread may contain additives such as yoghourt, dates, sugar, sultanas, ‘bakers’ flour and manufactured yeast.
Equally puzzling are modern developments, where:
– For home breadmaking, only one loaf of bread is made at a time. From an energy-saving perspective, as many loaves should be baked as the oven can take. The excess loaves can be frozen; when thawed, they are like fresh hot bread. (Note: Thawing frozen bread in the oven is speedy but compromises the loaf’s storage.)
Commonly used terms such as wholemeal, whole wheat and 100 per cent bread, are inaccurate, misleading and unhelpful.
– Gone is the use of bread as a platform for the flavoursome and nutrient rich juices of traditional plant-based meals.
The recent quest to rediscover sourdough starter and the use of extra ingredients is unfortunate. Three recent articles reveal the extent of modern developments (1).They highlight in graphic detail their failures and, as with the modern celebrity chef culture, they embellish them with a plethora of colourful adjectives:
– “I put my starter in the fridge to stop her growing,” which happens when the starter is fed with sugary foods.
“As fellow sufferers will know, sourdough is the Everest, Mariana Trench of bread making.” Traditional bread, although laborious, was very easy to make.
– “I added yoghurt and sultanas into the mix to really give it a fighting chance.” Such additions are detrimental to, and against the principles of, sourdough bread making.
– “I threw half of it [starter] down the sink” and, “I tipped it [dough] down the toilet.” Such actions risk blocking the sewerage pipes.
– “In a nice big bowl …” and “a beautiful book called Sourdough.” Whether the bowl is nice, or the book is beautiful, is irrelevant to bread making.
– Also, the leading picture for one article shows a burnt loaf of bread made by a celebrity chef. Although the loaf was burnt, it was described using glowing adjectives – overlooking the fact that burnt bread indicates the presence of carcinogenic compounds. It reminds me of pizzas on the cover page of a magazine, which, although burned, were described “perfect Pizza!”
– Kneading the dough on a stone bench (as indicated in one photo) is not recommended. The dough gets cold from the stone and it takes longer to rise. Wood is the best material for kneading and shaping the loaves.
What is at stake is the chefs innate desire for creativity!
As a long-time maker and promoter of traditional bread, I welcome the current interest in sourdough bread, but I am disappointed by the misuse of the term, the enormous confusion engendered and the failure to capitalise on well-established traditional practices. That the reporters and the public have difficulties making sourdough bread is undeniable. But it is inexcusable to highlight disasters, which are the direct result of failure to follow sound traditional practices. It is also unwise to consult bakers/chefs who rely on experimentation rather than on well-established traditional knowledge.
Authorities are called to:
Promote and protect linguistic integrity; Protect consumers against misinformation; Free policy development from the influence of lobbyists.
Lorgeril Md, Salen P. Gluten and wheat intolerance today: are modern wheat strains involved? International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 2014;65(5):577-81.
(1) a) Culture shock: 10 stages of sourdough-starter grief, May 17, 2020, Sunday Age, b) How to make and bake sourdough bread at home, Good Food’s cover story, May 18, 2020, The Age, and, c) Sourdough notes, GOODWEEKEND, June 6, 2020, The Age.