Freshloafers
There are lots of bakeries and restaurants that serve 'sourdough' bread. However, most have sourdough levain plus commercial fresh/dry yeast. What are some key characteristics in terms of taste, look and texture that indicates that the baker has used a sourdough levain in conjunction commercial yeast.
Might be an interesting discussion.
Thanks
Those are all characteristics of added yeast, which is why you might choose to add it when making loaves that are high in whole wheat since such loaves tend to have denser crumb and do not rise as much, all other things being equal?
to tell. Knowing that a wide variety of tastes and breads can come from sourdough, and a wide definition of "sourdough" still applies, without knowing the method, impossible to tell. Perhaps with digestion of said bread, more information could be gathered. Sourdoughs tend to be easier to digest.
By toasting, they tend to take longer and have a more complex aroma.
Thanks for all the responses! always an interesting discussion
Baker's yeast competes with the bacterium Lactobacillus SanFranciscensis for the available maltose and this affects the flavor.
If you have never had real, old-school S.F. sourdough you don't really have a frame of reference. Acme sourdough, made in Berkeley and distributed throughout the bay area, comes the closest that I've been able to find, but it is quite a bit milder than the old-school breads.
Boudin is junk sold to tourists who don't know any better.
Bakers who use both will use a fraction of the commercial yeast that a yeasted bread calls for. Thus, the super competitive yeast are not necessarily going to overcome the sourdough culture's benefits.
I think you would be hard pressed to taste a difference in flavor if a very small amount of commercial yeast were being used and the length of the fermentation was kept relatively the same. But, you might still wind up with a lighter airier crumb due to the superior rising qualities that commercial yeast offers.