Sourdough Typology - SJSD, SFSD or what?
As I begin the mental preparation for trying to bake David's San Joaquin Sourdough this coming weekend, I am distracted by a matter of semantics and typology. I am familiar with the origin of "San Joaquin Sourdough" (see David's 12/14/09 comment at http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14140/san-joaquin-sourdough-another-variation-produces-best-flavor-yet [1]). I assume the name was coined as a reference to the Great Valley in which Fresno is located, where he lives. I am in San Francisco, which has a sourdough of its own. But I'll be be baking San Joaquin Sourdough in San Francisco, with a starter that evolved from David's starter from the San Joaquin. It may be that my starter, born of generations of native San Franciscan yeasts, albeit descended from earlier generations of Fresnite yeasts, is now a San Francisco Sourdough Starter.
Perhaps my bread ought to be named for some geographic feature located between Fresno and San Francisco. Maybe Mt. Diablo. "Pane di Diavolo" sounds pretty sexy. Or perhaps it should be named for the town of Fort Bragg, where that original glob of David's starter came into my possession. In fact, my starter had bred for many generations in a jar that formerly held Pudding Creek Farms Ollalieberry Jam, made in Fort Bragg.
Before I make myself crazy trying to give a name to a bread that hasn't even been made yet, I should inquire whether there are typological principles that apply to the varieties of Sourdough Bread. Is there a quasi-governmental body that enforces sanctioned naming conventions? Does a new formula need to be a certain distance removed from a previously named formula before it gets its own name? Or do we just get to make it up as we go along? I kinda suspect it's that last one, but I don't want to get into any trouble.
Thanks for any help.
Glenn