I can tell by the thick crust this is Maui culture and not yeast already in the flour. I haven't tasted it yet, it's still cooling down, but that will be double confirmation.
I used very little flour,to reactivate the yeast culture, just a trace. The culture had languished for years. The refrigerated sample seemed dead after days of enhanced heat treatment. The sludge changed in nature but failed to form foamy bubbles. Except when stirred, then bubbles appeared, and not regular stirring bubble either. The tiny bubbles were in there, just not detectable and insufficient to double the height too tiny to rise to the surface.
So I added the dry Maui culture to boost the reactivation. Now that must be replaced. I had a lot of trouble reactivating this culture using both samples after so much time had elapsed. Several years, in fact.
The culture was collected on Maui at three different times at three different places. My poor brother bore with me through all that, patiently bemused with my obsession and experimentation and the God-awful smell. Good grief, that place is yeasty. A solid collection fully foaming can be gathered overnight. Within a few hours on a windy day. One of the collections was only an hour. The three combined back at home.
These are the yeast cultures saved as thick putty in the refrigerator. Except for the tin, that one is frozen. You can see they're all visibly different. They all do produce different tasting bread with different characteristics in crust and crumb.
These are the cultures that were dried.
The best of the lot is Antioch. Collected by my brother by my request per my instructions. His heart was not in it the project. He did it for me and that is all. He said it was rained on twice. The rain spout dumped into the tray. His dog lapped it up. The squirrels got into it. Branches fell into it. Leaves blew into it. Insects climbed in. All that is good. It was partly dumped out accidentally, started over, refreshed with new water and flour a few times. Then finally mailed off to get rid of it. The package split open in shipping. Only a tablespoon remained on delivery. It was a mess. It turned out to be the most outstanding culture of my sourdough culture collection. The fastest. The strongest. The best tasting. The best crust. The most flexible. The most forgiving. And that goes to show you ... something.
Larger photos, less words here.
16 comments:
(1) There's an great exchange on The Big Bang Theory where Bernadette says to Amy that they're both the same because they're both scientists and Amy takes offense.
She says, "We are both certainly not he same. I am a nuerobiologist. I study the human brain, the organ that gave us Beethoven's 5th symphony. You are a microbiologist. You study yeast, the organism that gave us Coors Light."
That's from memory. Close enough.
(2) Last night's Star Trek TOS was "Requiem for Methuselah." One of the great episodes. It's the one where a single guy is the immortal personification of human achievement. He builds the perfect robot space chick but he needs Kirk to lubricate her space vagina.
The script even manages to shoehorn in the obligatory fistfight at the end.
Does it get any better than that? I ask you.
Speaking of yeast, I went to Wegman's the other day to pickup a six pack of beer. It was THIS in case anyone cares. I had one yesterday with dinner and I recommend it highly. Delicious!
Anyway, it was about 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon and there were people sitting at the outdoor dining area (it was a very nice day) eating their takeout food and drinking beer and I was kind of shocked to see people with those big bottles of stuff like Victory Wild Devil.
And I'm all like "You're not allowed to do that! You have to share those big bottles. You're not allowed to drink one by yourself!"
Because that's what we do around here. And then I'm all like "What the fuck is wrong with me? Who put that idiocy into my skull? It's like having two 12 ounce beers. Why the fuck not?"
Weird.
Speaking of Coors, I tried a new Colorado-based beer last night called New Planet.
I bought three types of artisan beers but my refrigerator has room for only one six pack so I mixed the the six packs evenly two each and tried the New Planet first.
It's a company based in Boulder with a micro brewery there. But they mostly contract other breweries to produce their line of beers.
Marketed as gluten-free, the conceit put me off, nearly didn't buy it for the celiac fad aspect. I tried real hard not to hold that against it.
Turned out exactly the sort of thing I am looking for. Something without the up front hops bitterness, but not something that tastes like a fruit drink. Surely there is something in between bitter and sweet, and this hits the spot. This beer has the distinct and somewhat odd but not off-putting taste of raspberry. That is what I detected. The type I bought is Blond Ale. Looking at their faq I do see a Raspberry Ale listed between Blond and Amber. How's that for flavor detection, eh? Their line also has Pale Ale, Belgian Ale and Brown Ale. With others available later.
It is delightfully good and I like it a lot. These and the Belgian IPAs I've tried are such a nice change over all the beers I've tried until just recently. I am really enjoying this beer revolution we're in. I'm glad the microbrewery craze is challenging the traditional American breweries. It fills me with glee and wonder and pride.
And it all comes from a "Hey, I can do that too" attitude regarding making beer. The realization that brewing is not some magical process available only to wizards, that it can be mastered by regular blokes. Such as myself.
As it happens there is much greater interest in beer than in bread but those two things developed together.Their early histories twined. One is solid, the other liquid, that is the only difference. One produced in an oven the other in a tun. Or a vat, or whatever. You get the idea. Beer and bread are the same things, their development and their histories entwined.
Damn, this Maui bread is good.
The flavor is concentrated in its crust and its crust is exceedingly thick and tough to chew. It is not so good for things such as sandwiches, but plain with butter or olive oil it is quite extraordinary. Masticating the crust fills the whole mouth with pleasantly complex sourdough flavor.
Those two things together, artisan bread different from any other bread available, utterly unique in its aspects, and beer that is uniquely pleasant with a faint raspberry flavor and no bitterness becomes something of a simple marvel to enjoy.
Oh, I almost forgot. Yeast.
Brettanomyces.
Brett beer is one of the latest fads in the microbrew mini-world. It's dangerous, apparently, because it can get out of control and ruin the beer you're making and there's a risk it'll contaminate your facility and you'll end up having to bleach everything.
Wild Devil is made with Brett yeast and Victory charges a premium for it. A pint is $7.50. That's steep. I'm guessing the upcharge reflects the expense of all the extra precautions they have to take with the yeast.
But I also kind of suspect that's a bunch of crap. There's a tiny, tiny, tiny brewery in Lansdale, PA called Round Guy's that makes a Brett beer they call "Fear of a Brett Planet."
That's kind of an odd name but I think it's pretty clever. Public Enemy. Fear of a Black Planet. Brewers afraid of Brett yeast.
Get it? Not bad, actually. Maybe a little risky, so far as names for your product go. But again. Fear of a risky name? Again, not bad.
Sometimes things just sort of come together in a nifty way.
New Planet. Star Trek. Coors. Big Bang. Black Planet.
Ha!
The labels too are strange.
The Belgian IPAs all have weird goofy un-beer-like labels. The sort that look like they are not serious. A hammock, a doorway, a camera, a bicycle, and such. And then names with fruit on them might appeal to women but put off men who are not looking for that.
Labeling and naming are tricky for both seller and buyer.
I've been fooled by a fruity beer. It tastes like pop. Has no head at all. Doesn't foam. No hops apparent. Tastes exactly like a boozy carbonated fruit drink. That's not what I want. I Think I have four of those left. I don't like them.
It turned out to be the most outstanding culture of my sourdough culture collection.
huh. so you're a sourdough culture collector, eh? I had no idea.
Thanks for the introduction to gluten free beer. (New Planet) I'll have to try it.
Vote for Pedro!
I just now fell and banged my head seriously hard. Knocked myself senseless. More senseless than I already am. My legs just collapsed. Now I'm going to have a lump on my head. I need a lay down.
Don't mess with a concussion.
If you feel lousy and tired, and a bit dizzy - take it easy.
If you were knocked out, then you need to ask someone who knows you to check in with you later this afternoon and tonight, to monitor for prolonged drowsiness or confusion.
Vomiting is bad, too.
Dude, at least go to the doc-in-the-box - I did when I got hit in the head by a flying beam. Mainly I wanted them to stop the blood that was running out and making a scene, but also, it's important that someone check your pupils and cognition.
A friend of mine just underwent a brain scan. They didn't find anything.
I'm better now. But there's a lump back there.
It offsets the dent.
I'd make a terrible looking bald person. Frightening lumps and dents all over the place.
Beer, bread, and butter. Its great. Too bad I'm on a low carb diet.
I am bald, last time my son visited he asked about the scar, which he had never seen before.
Told him 'tweren't nothin', and you should have seen the other guy.
Because it is better to be feared than respected, or something.
Many years ago a buddy and I were canoeing on a trout stream.
We capsized and I took a paddle butt to the forehead.
A couple of hours later I saw four visual images of reality, arranged in a grid, slowly revolving before me as if on a wheel.
Just like it was on "Gilligan's Island" when he got conked on the head with a coconut or something.
Probably explains a lot.
Buzz Beer
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