Wild Sourdough: The Natural Way to Bake

by Yoke Mardewi

Overview

We have to thank the ancient Egyptians for the sourdough bread we know today.

Wild Sourdough is a hands-on and highly practical guide to sourdough bread-making at home.

With more than 45 easy-to-follow sourdough recipes, written specifically for home-bakers, Wild Sourdough invites you to go back to basics, using flour, water and salt then add in feta, walnuts, dried fruit or figs to create your own unique loaf. It uses natural fermentation techniques to create simple, wholesome and preservative-free, sourdough bread.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781741107449
Publisher:	New Holland Publishers Australia
Publication date:	10/10/2009
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Yoke Mardewi's wish in writing Wild Sourdough is to inspire people to return to their kitchens with beautiful flours, and to start experimenting! Wild Sourdough is written from Yoke's point of view as a bread-making teacher and home-baker, and she measures her success by how many people she has 'infected' with her passion and knowledge of sourdough.

Editorial Reviews

Beginning with an examination of sourdough breads and instructions on making one's own starter, home baker Mardewi gives readers two paths to follow: the lengthy Dough Retardation method, and the quicker Straight or Starter Method. Once they've got their starter ready to go, Mardewi opens the oven, showing readers how to make basic Pain Au Levain, Ciabatta, Lavash, and even chocolate and gingerbread cake varieties. Having been originally published in Australia, metric measurements are converted for U.S. audiences, but the recipes aren't fully "translated": rather than cups and teaspoons, readers will need a scale to measure ingredients; even more frustrating, virtually every recipe calls for odd and unobtainable oven temperatures (Roasted Vegetable Sourdough bakes at 435 degrees Fahrenheit, Sweet Potato and Cheddar at 437, and Light Rye Spelt at 410). Crucial tips for achieving a crusty, crunchy result, such as using a granite tile, aren't given enough emphasis, and will likely be missed by readers stressing over their starter. Veteran bakers will appreciate the collection of ideas and applications, but those new to breadmaking will likely wind up flustered and frustrated.

Publishers Weekly

Bread-making teacher and home baker Mardewi focuses on bread (and pizza crust and even cakes) produced solely with natural sourdough starters, meaning no commercial yeast is used. A mixture of water and flour is created, and wild yeast in the air and flour populate the dough to create the leavening agent. There are 45 recipes, ranging from a standard white loaf to breads with spelt, rice, quinoa, or millet as the primary grains. Mardewi includes a chapter on "wheat-free" baking, but since almost all of these recipes include spelt, a type of wheat, they are not truly wheat free. She also covers sweet and savory breads, which are enriched with cheeses, nuts, and/or dried fruits. Beautiful close-ups of the loaves provide mouthwatering testimony, but they are unlabeled, and this makes it difficult at times to tell which loaf is pictured. As the author is Australian, measurements and temperatures are provided in both metric and U.S. units, which can be confusing. VERDICT Overall, a book for experienced bakers looking to broaden their horizons. An optional purchase for most collections.—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. of Ohio Libs., Oxford

Library Journal