Does sourdough retain character in new location?

[concordal]

When it comes to re-culturing sourdough in a new location there seem to be two schools of thought.

One group says that local bacteria will take over and, although you still have sourdough, it no longer has the same characteristics. This group has such members as Jeffrey Hamelman, director of the baking education center for King Arthur Flour, who has been quoted as saying "Local bugs join the party, and before long you've got Lactobacillus newyorkensis." Also, Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice says "... the organisms indigenous to your region will gradually take charge ... a starter made from a seed culture imported from Egypt or Russia will, over time, produce bread that tastes like a starter made locally from scratch."

The other group maintains that the sourdough culture, being a mixture of yeasts and lactobacilli bacteria, when cultured properly will reproduce identical yeasts and bacteria. This group has contenders like Ed Wood, author of Classic Sourdoughs.

What has the experience of eGullet members been?

[Nawtees]

This is very interesting. I need to know. Next to chocolate, I adore sourdough bread. Very high on my list. My mother had her own restaurant and could bake anything. But, she was very reluctant to even "go there" with sourdough. She totally believed that a new location would mean a different taste and loss of the taste that she adored in San Francisco. I hate to admit it, but for all that she dared to do with her life, she always dissuaded us from even trying to make sourdough bread! That is a real shame. However, perhaps this, too, will be something I won't wait for the new year to get started on.

Any input from those of you that are bread makers would be greatly appreciated!

Edited October 28, 2008 by Nawtees (log)

[andiesenji]

I have tried many sourdough cultures over the 29 years I lived in the San Fernando valley and in the last twenty years I have lived here in the high desert of the Antelope valley in southern California.

I have purchased several of Ed Wood's sourdough cultures from different parts of the world as well as culturing my own and sourdoughs from other people's starters.

It is true that they will morph over a period of a few months into something quite different from what they were in the beginning. Not to say that this is terrible, just that you can't expect to produce a truly San Francisco type sourdough if you live in other areas.

The climate, the atmosphere and possibly the latitude and longitude or the imaginary "ley lines" the witchy types write and speak of, might have an effect on the creatures that produce the chemicals that flavor and leaven the dough.

I kept one starter going for many years and it was given to me by a friend's dad who lived in Placerville, CA in the Mother Lode country and swore that he had kept the starter going since it had been given to him some thirty years before.

It was quite active and fairly sour when I first began using it but after about four or five months it was much milder but remained quite vigorous. After I moved up here to the desert it changed again and had more of the sour taste it had originally.

Following the '94 earthquake we lost power for a few days and I tossed it and most of the other stuff in my fridge.

Of the sourdough starters from Ed Wood, the one that maintained its integrity the longest was the Bahrain culture. It started out very sour and remained so for almost a year.

So, my solution has been to keep a culture going until I notice that I am no longer getting the result I desire, dump it and order another starter and start all over again.

In fact I am ready to place an order any day now, when I can decide which one I want to try next.

I am leaning toward giving the South African a trial because it is said to leaven whole wheat flour better than regular flour and ideal for people like me who like to grind their own grain.

Edited October 28, 2008 by andiesenji (log)

[thegreatdane]

It's my experience with sourdough that it acclimates to your environment as the local gang of wild yeast takes over. As in all fermentation, the yeast creates alcohol and CO2, then the bacteria jump in and create acetic acid, or the sour flavor you may like. If you feed it regularly, and make bread frequently, the culture stays very active. It can go dormant in the refrigerator over time but can be revived by getting back to a regular feeding schedule. And, if you want the bread to taste more sour, let the bacteria kick in as you proof the actual dough. Everyone everywhere should enjoy making sourdough bread from little more than water, flour, and a bit of salt, which retards the yeast. Have fun!