Hi again Ian, the biochemistry that contributes to flavor in sourdough baking is, indeed, a complex subject that at times reveals contradictory view points. My overall understanding is that warm, wet conditions encourage the bacterial activity that promotes flavor development, but that cold dry conditions increase the ratio of acetic acid to lactic acid development (acetic acid being the sourer of the two). From my own sourdough baking experience, I find that maintaining a stiff starter and using it regularly produces bread that is predictably sour. I do refrigerate my shaped loaves overnight in the refrigerator, which, as I said before, seems to have the greatest impact on sour flavor development. When I took a sourdough baking class here at our baking school in Vermont, the emphasis was on maintaining a strong, healthy starter (in this case, a liquid starter) and concentrating on flavor development during the dough phase. Barb

• Reply