Science question - localized bacteria and impact on crust formation
As you know, David Snyder and others on this site have been trying to replicate the distinctive flavor and character of San Francisco sourdough. For me, a significant part of the SF SD flavor and experience is a thick, crunchy, deeply carmelized crust (for me, the Laraburu Brothers bread I grew up on was the epitomy of SF SD). I recently made David's fourth iteration of the SF SD bread formula he's been developing and found the flavors exceptional but it did not have the crust qualities that I think are typical of SF SD.
Now, after reading the following excerpt from Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice I'm wondering if those of us not living in SF can achieve that same crust quality. Reinhart writes: "San Francisco sourdough bread, for example, has a particular type of local bacteria call Lactobacillus sanfrancisco that gives this bread a different quality, more sour with a thicker crust, than any other wild yeast bread made in other parts of the world."
I'd be very interested in hearing from those with insights into the science of wild yeast and bacterial organisms. Does Reinhart's comment ring true? Is it possible to replicate an SF SD in the absence of lactobacillus sanfrancisco?