Flour and Confectionery Products
Sourdough Bread Real sourdough bread: four ingredients — bread flour, water, salt, active starter — and two to three days of patient fermentation. No yeast, no additives. The starter (a living culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria) leavens the dough while simultaneously producing the organic acids that give sourdough its characteristic tang and dense, chewy crumb. The signature is the crust: baked inside a covered Dutch oven, it shatters when you cut it. The open crumb — an irregular network of large and small holes visible when sliced — comes from strong gluten development through stretch-and-folds and a long cold proof that slows fermentation and develops flavor. One of the most technically demanding home bakes; also one of the most rewarding.
