Classic Sourdoughs, Revised: A Home Baker's Handbook

by Ed Wood, Jean Wood

Sourdough: The Gold Standard of Bread
More and more home bakers are replacing mass-produced breads and commercial yeasts in favor of artisan breads made with wild cultures and natural fermentation. Whether you want to capture your own local yeasts, take advantage of established cultures like San Francisco Sourdough, or simply bake healthier, more natural loaves, you'll find no better guides than renowned sourdough authorities Ed and Jean Wood.
In this updated edition of "Classic Sourdoughs," the Woods reveal their newly discovered secret to crafting the perfect loaf: by introducing a unique culture-proofing step and adjusting the temperature of the proofs, home bakers can control the sourness and leavening like never before. The reward? Fresh, hot sourdough emerging from the oven just the way you like it--every time. Starting with their signature Basic Sourdough loaf, the Woods present recipes featuring rustic grains and modern flavors, including Herb Spelt Bread, Prarie Flax Bread, and Malt Beer Bread, along with new no-knead versions of classics like White French Bread. They round out the collection with recipes for homemade baguettes, bagels, English muffins, and cinnamon rolls, plus a chapter on baking authentic sourdoughs in bread machines.
Steeped in tradition, nuanced in flavor, and wonderfully ritualized in preparation, sourdough is bread the way it was meant to be. So join the sourdough renaissance and bring these time-honored traditions into your own kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink

ebook

First published November 30, 2001

Reviews

[Angela Ferr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with lots of info and a ton of recipes. I learned a lot about sourdough and sourdough starters. How the time it takes to make sourdough bread can depend on how "sour" you want it to taste, the time of year, and your location in the world.
Some things I did not like: The author gets too technical with bread making. I make bread to go back to basics, relax, and make simple, but great quality bread the way it has been made for centuries all around the world. He want's you to make a proofing box by adding a light bulb to a cooler and checking the temperature periodically... I'm sorry, but ain't nobody got time for that (unless you are an engineer that that is your thing). Why not proof the dough the way people have been doing it for centuries? If I wanted to get so technical about bread making, I would just go buy some bread at the grocery store pre-made. He is taking the beautiful simplicity of bread-making out of it.
Also, his recipes are ALL the same. He has a basic form for all of his recipes, and he will maybe change up the flour he is using and add some sugar, milk or seeds. Not sure how I feel about that. Makes me feel like he did not make all of these recipes.
I will keep this book, and use it for reference, but I will use other references with it. Also......I ain't making no proofing box!

[Becky R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently become a sourdough enthusiast, having made my first starter three months ago (and it's still alive and well). My mother has a gluten intolerance, and after seeing Michael Pollan's documentary "Cooked" on Netflix, learned that sourdough helps to break down the gluten and is a good source of the good bacteria your gut needs. Sure enough, my mother has ZERO issues with anything made from sourdough starter. Because of that, I've started making banana bread, cookies, and regular breads from this starter.

This book is a great handbook, just as it says. It gives a great history and really nice, basic recipes that you can use with your starter. It also tells you how you can make your own (although there are recipes and communities online that can also help you). This cookbook is not picture-laden, which I actually usually like to have go along with the recipes, but I still find the simplicity in this book really excellent. I give it high marks for anyone wanting to start a sourdough habit!

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is not a lot of text in this book, and a lot of recipes. I was pleased that it does cover the classic sourdoughs described in World Sourdoughs from Antiquity. Thus you get the interesting background without needing to buy the older book.

This year I neglected my Original San Francisco sourdough start so much that it became time to buy a new start. In activating it, I got out this book to learn what it has to say about activating a start. It was similar to what came with the new start, but had enough additional information to be worth pulling it out. While I had it out, I went ahead and read the rest of the book.

I often recommend Ed Wood to people when they have questions about sourdough because he is very clear about what matters, and what is not classic sourdough.

One part that explained a milk allergy that a daughter has, but only some batches of milk was on page 9, "Work on milk fermentation has identified a group of factors that inhibit the growth of starter bacteria in the production of cheese and yogurt. These include antibiotics present in the milk of cows that have been treated to prevent udder infections and in sanitizers used in cleaning milking machines. These findings point out the importance of never adding anything to your sourdough culture except flour and water. Further, if you experience inconsistent results with recipes calling for milk, inhibitors of this type may be involved." This caution is reiterated in different words on page 23-24.

"As you embark on your work with sourdoughs, you'll experience both success and frustration. Just remember that there is more art (thank goodness) than science in baking as our ancestors did, and the artist learns by doing. But don't forget why you're here. sourdoughs are for fun and personal satisfaction." (Page 25)

My experience with sourdough has been positively delightful. When we are to have sourdough bread, I am delighted to make it.

Review updated 2023-11-14
I make the bread for our family, and am getting back into making sourdough bread, so pulled the Ed Wood sourdough books out to find cultures that are suitable for use in a bread machine. I was lucky in the past because most of the cultures described in World Sourdoughs from Antiquity: Authentic recipes for modern bakers are not, and the three cultures I have now require 2-3 hours in a proofing oven.

[Morten Christiansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, good ideas, good recipes. I think some of the recommended times must be off, though. Most recipes call for a bulk rise at room temperature of 8-12 hours. If I try that, my dough collapses and will not rise again. 3-4 hours bulk rise is more realistic with kneaded dough. 8-12 hours only works for me with a refrigerator or no-knead breads. The book recommends 2-4 hours for the second rise. My breads top after 1-2 hours in the second rise.

One possible cause of the difference is that I use flour with a fairly high amount of gluten, protein about 12%, rather than the more common level about 10%.
Another possibility is, of course, that my sourdough just is a fast riser.

I am still skeptical about the effect of the "sourdough proof" as well as the effect of the 30 minute "rest" before shaping. I intend to experiment, to see if I can sense a difference.

[Nadine Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm enjoying this book thoroughly. I'm new to traditional sourdough baking, and there's a definite learning curve involved, but these recipes are easy to follow. We really like the cinnamon/raisin/walnut bread, and the challah was delicious as well. I still have many recipes to try!

I have found that proofing tends to not take as long as the book indicates. One night I ended up baking bread late into the night because the bread proofed sooner than the recipe said...so I'd keep an eye out for that. This is not a problem with the book, however, but rather the particular conditions of my kitchen.

I'm having a lot of fun with this! Highly recommended.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to use for beginning sourdough baking. It includes an interesting history of sourdough and the world wide travels of the authors on their quest for sourdough starters. However, I find the methods used in this book a bit overly fussy. I don't bother with a proofing box, and often skip steps listed in this book, while favoring a longer ferment at room temperature and no-kneading necessary.

[Debbie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting resource for types of flour and the history of bread. How to make bread the old-fashioned way with healthier yeast. I am excited to try the recipes. I recommend this book over "The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast".

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently become a sourdough enthusiast, having made my first starter three months ago (and it's still alive and well). My mother has a gluten intolerance, and after seeing Michael Pollan's documentary "Cooked" on Netflix, learned that sourdough helps to break down the gluten and is a good source of the good bacteria your gut needs. Sure enough, my mother has ZERO issues with anything made from sourdough starter. Because of that, I've started making banana bread, cookies, and regular breads from this starter.

This book is a great handbook, just as it says. It gives a great history and really nice, basic recipes that you can use with your starter. It also tells you how you can make your own (although there are recipes and communities online that can also help you). This cookbook is not picture-laden, which I actually usually like to have go along with the recipes, but I still find the simplicity in this book really excellent. I give it high marks for anyone wanting to start a sourdough habit!

[Pam Joslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this book sounded great! But I felt that a Home Baker's Handbook should be a little more explicit in the look, the feel and the smell of the sourdoughs in questions, such as what exactly should the sponge look like to begin with. Maybe I'm a little too spoiled by the Cook's Illustrated books that not only share the background and methods, but reiterate them in each recipe. I fancy myself a pretty good baker, but was a little confused on what the finished product should like in each of the recipes. I had to go to the internet to look up some of the breads to get an idea. That said, the part of the book at the beginning and the end got me caught up in the world of sourdough and excited to embark on my journey, along with supply chain options for something I can't find locally. This book would have been a 5-star with a little more empathy for the home baker built in.

[Rachel Colman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've made about a dozen batches of sourdough bread so far, and I've been reading whatever books the library has available on e-readers right now to learn more perspectives about the techniques and variables of the process. Ed's introduction is fascinating, and provides some really interesting background to his work. The recipes lack technical information, or problem-solving information, and don't offer enough specific information to make a successful loaf. The recipes offer lots of ideas of flavour combinations; and yet the rise times and measurements by volume instead of weight don't make sense for how picky sourdough is about hydration, developing gluten, timing, and shaping. This is an interesting read, but won't teach you what you need as a primary source.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book. It is well written with interesting historical information, the science is explained simply, and helpful tips though-out. The author explains that sourdough baking is both art and science. I begun the process of capturing my own culture today (fingers firmly crossed), and hope to make my first loaf next weekend.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to begin learning how to make sourdough bread. Includes history of sourdough cultures and various grains.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, a good reference book, but a little too time-consuming for me right now.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational

Recommended by Alton Brown in his baking cookbook, a great reference to accompany to the YouTube videos I have been watching.

[Nancy Mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information and sourdough starters to try

This is a fascinating read with great information on various sourdough starters. Enjoy the Journey it is worth the great read

[Jessie Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would contain more prose than it did, but I enjoyed the historical information presented. Some of the recipes have largely identical text.

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up after getting an Italian sourdough from the author's sourdoughs international. The recipes are useful though he assumes an ability to adapt and get a feel for the doughs and your culture. The introductory section about sourdoughs is very educational.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

there aren't many sourdough books out there, so this one is important too have, but I'm not convinced their recipes work all the time. and maybe that's because there is little variation between them. I would like a but more variety.

[Bryan E. Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Ready to start!

Having failed before with sourdough but loving the flavor, I wanted another try at it. Great fun reading through today, with a clear sense of beginning a great new pursuit. Thanks!!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE defininitive sourdough book

[Phil James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the proprietor from www.sourdo.com , where sourdough cultures can be purchased. Also wrote another sourdough cookbook, one more available at his website, too.

[Sarah Hefner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice handbook on sourdough baking. The history section is good and the recipes are clear and easy to follow. Baking times seem to vary for me, though.

[Kati Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really good reference for making sourdough.