Levain, more commonly known as sourdough recipe starter, is an ancestral pre-ferment form employed in the bread baking process. It is a common ingredient when baking breads that are rye based because of the unique results it produces. Although not typically utilised as the standard bread livening technique in the current day's bread baking industry, and more so in the English speaking nations due to the predominance of the wheat based bread, some speciality bakeries still use it.
Sourdough is basically a Lactobacillus-culture-containing dough. It is one of 2 biological leavening methods in bread baking, the other methodology being the use of commercial yeast. Due to the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli, sourdough brings forth a uniquely sour and tangy taste in the end product in comparison to yeast livened breads.
Why Use Sourdough Recipe Starter
In contrast to the commercially made yeast utilized for baking, which is a single organism that produces lots of gas that easily transforms the grain in to something that is probably harmful to your body, sourdough is made from 2 different organisms that are in a symbiotic relationship. These are bacteria and wild yeast. When working together, these 2 organisms change your grain in to a more digestible, fitter and high mould resistant form. The sourdough is also free (unlike commercial yeast), and even somebody who has yeast or wheat allergies gets no problem when they eat a genuine sourdough.
The Prerequisites
To make a great sourdough based bread is easy too. All you need is flour from whatever grains (though organic whole wheat is best), water, a range or at the very least a stove, and some object to carry your sourdough in, like a glass container. You may also need pans and bowls, depending on what you propose to make. Then select from the many recipes widely available online, or offline, that use the sourdough recipe starter.
Sourdough is basically a Lactobacillus-culture-containing dough. It is one of 2 biological leavening methods in bread baking, the other methodology being the use of commercial yeast. Due to the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli, sourdough brings forth a uniquely sour and tangy taste in the end product in comparison to yeast livened breads.
Why Use Sourdough Recipe Starter
In contrast to the commercially made yeast utilized for baking, which is a single organism that produces lots of gas that easily transforms the grain in to something that is probably harmful to your body, sourdough is made from 2 different organisms that are in a symbiotic relationship. These are bacteria and wild yeast. When working together, these 2 organisms change your grain in to a more digestible, fitter and high mould resistant form. The sourdough is also free (unlike commercial yeast), and even somebody who has yeast or wheat allergies gets no problem when they eat a genuine sourdough.
The Prerequisites
To make a great sourdough based bread is easy too. All you need is flour from whatever grains (though organic whole wheat is best), water, a range or at the very least a stove, and some object to carry your sourdough in, like a glass container. You may also need pans and bowls, depending on what you propose to make. Then select from the many recipes widely available online, or offline, that use the sourdough recipe starter.
About the Author:
Gary Smullen loves finding good sourdough bread recipes. To make good sourdough bread, you need to have time tested sourdough starter recipes.
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