The bakery in Porto that made me rethink my sourdough starter

Honestly, I was in Porto last month for a quick trip and wandered into this tiny place near the river that only sells three things: bread, butter, and coffee. Their sourdough had this crust that cracked like glass but the inside was so soft and springy, I stood there eating a slice plain and almost missed my train. I've been baking at home for years and my starter is fine, but theirs had this deep tang that I just can't get. I asked the guy behind the counter and he said they feed it once a day with a mix of rye and wheat, nothing fancy. I came home and tried that ratio for two weeks and honestly it's a different loaf now. Has anyone else had a bakery trip that totally changed your routine, or am I just overly obsessed with bread?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesser7921d ago

Oh man, I feel this in my bones. I had a similar thing happen in a tiny spot in Lisbon, they did this corn and rye loaf that tasted like nothing I ever made at home. I grilled the baker about it and he just shrugged and said they use cold water and a longer proof. I got back and switched my whole schedule around, started proofing overnight in the fridge. Night and day difference, I’m not gonna lie. Now I’m the guy who brings bread to every party and won’t shut up about hydration levels. So no, you’re not overly obsessed, you just caught the bug that keeps on giving.

oliviat1720d ago

And that cold water trick is actually pretty common in a lot of the old school bakeries, but it took me a minute to realize it's not just about temperature. The thing that got me when I tried it is you have to adjust your bulk fermentation time way more than you'd think, otherwise you end up with a gummy crumb. I also found out the hard way that your home fridge is usually warmer than a pro bakery's cold room, so you might need to shorten that overnight proof. Not saying the trip didn't change my whole process, because it totally did, but there's a learning curve to copying what they do on their equipment. Like, I still don't get that same crackly crust but it's a hell of a lot closer.