Natural leaven Bread. Pain Au Levain
"Pain au Levain" in French. Bread made from a sourdough starter. It is a dense bread, usually round or oblong, with a very delicate tang to it. The sour tang -- or the acidity ("acidité", as the French refer to it), helps to hold moisture in the bread, which makes it stay fresh longer than breads made with yeast.
If soda makes a quick bread, then this recipe, using a natural leaven is a very, very slow bread. The wild yeast I have cultured has multiplied slowly, together with lactic bacteria, to create a distinctive, sour taste to the crumb. The extended kneading during the initial fermentation will help to stretch the air bubbles released by the yeast, enlarging them to create a web of exaggerated holes throughout the crumb.
*Loaves
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| TLB's sourdough starter culture. Whole wheat stone milled flour that I bought from Jln Ipoh's Indian Flour Mill, Manuka Propolis Honey. |
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| The Indian Flour Mill in Jln Ipoh. |
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| Milling in progress. |
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| Stone milled whole wheat flour. |
If soda makes a quick bread, then this recipe, using a natural leaven is a very, very slow bread. The wild yeast I have cultured has multiplied slowly, together with lactic bacteria, to create a distinctive, sour taste to the crumb. The extended kneading during the initial fermentation will help to stretch the air bubbles released by the yeast, enlarging them to create a web of exaggerated holes throughout the crumb.
*Loaves
Very beautiful and artisanally made! Luvly... - JK
ReplyDeletevery delicious
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