Why is San Francisco sourdough considered the best?
I know that both candida milleri (wild yeast) and lactobacilli sanfranciscensis (lactic acid bacteria) live all over the planet (please correct me if I’m wrong). But why is San Francisco sourdough then thought to be the best?
Sour dough starter was an easier provision to carry than whole loaves of bread. During the gold rush San Francisco was the hot seat of activity for new prospectors arriving, and for active prospectors to replenish their supplies. Sourdough bread became synonymous with San Francisco. Ergo – when is San Francisco, sourdough bread is a regional treat.
You’re right – every region has it’s own distictive plethora of native yeasts that live about and give up their yeasty goodness to the local bread. SF sourdough is quite famous for it’s distinctive flavor, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily “thought to be the best”. Some people might argue this point with you, as it really is a matter of individual taste preferences.
Every sourdough is different based upon regional yeasts and their interaction with the local water used to bake the bread. These factors, combined with weather and other conditions all conspire to make each sourdough as individual as a child. So even if you had a batch of genuine lactobacilli sanfranciscensis to work with, you just can’t duplicate an SF sourdough if you are living in New Jersey, because you are dealing with an entirely different terroir. Sourdough is like wine – it’s so much more than just the grapes that are used.
I’ve had many different delicious sourdoughs from European regions such as France and Italy. No two sourdoughs are alike, and all are fabulous in their own way, although I’ll admit I’m partial to SF sourdough as I grew up in the Bay Area.