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Baguette is traditionally a sourdough. Specifically, a liquid dough levain. This whole article seems strange because "sour-" the root doesn't exactly mean "sou

Baguette is traditionally a sourdough. Specifically, a liquid dough levain. This whole article seems strange because "sour-" the root doesn't exactly mean "sour" the taste. It's from "sauer" which implied any aerobic ferment or oxidation, since the old name of oxygen (and still in German) is sauerstoff. Yes, ferments often produce telltale organic acids, but the takeaway is that sourdough isn't called sour because of the flavor, but because it implies that it's derived from an existing culture and not a fresh ferment, like Jack Daniel's Tennessee "sour mash" whiskey, which notably does not taste "sour".

timeon 4y ago
If you over-proof dough then it could be sour. But that is considered to be an error.
- voisin 4y ago
  This is partially incorrect as it isn’t the only reason the sourdough can become sour. The sourness comes from the relative mix of bacteria. I believe the acronyms are BAC vs LAC but may be wrong on that. One is more milky and the other is more acidic, and which thrives proportionately better depends on the relative hydration and type of flour (whole vs white vs rye etc etc etc).
thaumasiotes 4y ago
> This whole article seems strange because "sour-" the root doesn't exactly mean "sour" the taste. It's from "sauer" which implied any aerobic ferment or oxidation, since the old name of oxygen (and still in German) is sauerstoff. I would have guessed that sourstuff was named after "sour" the taste, rather than the taste being named after the element. For one thing, people were aware of the flavor many thousands of years before they had any concept of the element.
foxyv 4y ago
Baguette is traditionally made from yeast rather than a sourdough. Typically what makes a sourdough isn't the yeast component, but the bacterial component. Lacto-Fermentation in general is dependent on the bacterial component to produce lactic acids making that distinct sour milk flavor. If you let a dough overproof you will get a sour taste because lacto-fermenting bacteria are freaking everywhere and will take over your dough. Sour mash whiskey doesn't taste sour because it is distilled. Also, beware. There are lies, damn lies, and etymology. Sauer literally translates from German to English as sour. This is because their sauer-kraut, sauer-braten, and kefirs are all lacto-ferments. In fact, a lot of these recipes don't even use existing cultures and simply inoculate them from the air. I had a lot of bad experiences with milk as a kid, especially a bout of the flu where I made the mistake of drinking milk while sick. So anything lacto-fermented is kind of nasty to me.

timeon 4y ago

If you over-proof dough then it could be sour. But that is considered to be an error.

voisin 4y ago
This is partially incorrect as it isn’t the only reason the sourdough can become sour. The sourness comes from the relative mix of bacteria. I believe the acronyms are BAC vs LAC but may be wrong on that. One is more milky and the other is more acidic, and which thrives proportionately better depends on the relative hydration and type of flour (whole vs white vs rye etc etc etc).

thaumasiotes 4y ago

> This whole article seems strange because "sour-" the root doesn't exactly mean "sour" the taste. It's from "sauer" which implied any aerobic ferment or oxidation, since the old name of oxygen (and still in German) is sauerstoff. I would have guessed that sourstuff was named after "sour" the taste, rather than the taste being named after the element. For one thing, people were aware of the flavor many thousands of years before they had any concept of the element.

foxyv 4y ago

Baguette is traditionally made from yeast rather than a sourdough. Typically what makes a sourdough isn't the yeast component, but the bacterial component. Lacto-Fermentation in general is dependent on the bacterial component to produce lactic acids making that distinct sour milk flavor. If you let a dough overproof you will get a sour taste because lacto-fermenting bacteria are freaking everywhere and will take over your dough. Sour mash whiskey doesn't taste sour because it is distilled. Also, beware. There are lies, damn lies, and etymology. Sauer literally translates from German to English as sour. This is because their sauer-kraut, sauer-braten, and kefirs are all lacto-ferments. In fact, a lot of these recipes don't even use existing cultures and simply inoculate them from the air. I had a lot of bad experiences with milk as a kid, especially a bout of the flu where I made the mistake of drinking milk while sick. So anything lacto-fermented is kind of nasty to me.