Mock Sour Dough Bread

by Mark Toffle
(St. Louis Park, MN, USA)

I used to have to travel to San Jose every month and on the way back I'd pick up a loaf of sour dough bread. I tried to replicate the stuff at home but as you may be aware it takes a lot of time to get the starter going. I eventually came upon the idea of substituting the acidic taste from the sour dough starter with a simpler substitute (white grape juice).
I passed my idea on to the folks at Cooks Illustrated and they were not very impressed but it's surprisingly close to the same flavor. Just substitute at least half of the water with warm white grape juice.


Chef Todd Says:
Great idea, Mark!
Don't let anyone tell you what is good and what is not in your kitchen. Sounds like the advice you've been getting is discouraging creativity and experimentation. I'm glad you went forward anyway.

It's the sour taste of sourdough bread that makes it unique and enjoyable to people. If you've found a way to replicate the flavor, with greater convenience, then you're a revolutionary! Perhaps a heretic to Cooks Illustrated, but a ground-breaker to me! Congratulations on writing your first baking formula.

Chef Todd.