Want sourdough with a lot of tang? Here are some (easy!) ways to do it!
Despite its name, sourdough is not actually always sour!
When you see "sourdough" in a recipe title, all it means is it's either leavened using a sourdough starter, or it includes sourdough starter in it - It really has nothing to do with how sour the final product actually is.
If you're looking to make your sourdough loaves extra sour, here are some tried and true ways to do it:
- Use starter that's been fed lower ratios of starter : flour : water. A starter that's fed with a 1 : 4 : 4 ratio will be much more sour than a starter fed with a 1 : 1 : 1 ratio. The lower the proportion of starter to fresh flour/water, the more sour it will be. (You can read all about sourdough starter ratios here!)
- Use less starter in your recipe. Using less starter will slow down the rise, giving your bread lots of time to develop some tang during bulk fermentation. If your recipe calls for 100 grams starter, try reducing it to 70 or even 50 grams.
- Do the second rise in the fridge. Slow down the second rise by putting it in your fridge for 24 to 48 hours. This will give your bread lots of time to get more and more of a sour flavor.
You can use all or some of these methods depending on what your schedule/life allow. Play around with them to see what works for you.
Of course, the inverse for all of these is also true - if you want a less sour loaf, just do the opposite of everything listed here!
I would love to hear your tips for getting extra sour flavor into your sourdough loaves! Feel free to leave a comment if you have an idea to share 🙂
Get ready for some really sour sourdough!
Leave a Reply