Sourdough
It may seem like a simple dough made of water and flour, left to mature at room temperature until a spontaneous flora of bacteria and yeasts is created. In reality, it is something more complex: in fact, the enzymes naturally present in the flour, activated by water, are responsible for the breakdown of starches into fermentable sugars, and these, made available to yeasts and bacteria present in the air and in the flour, are fermented, producing lactic acid, acetic acid and carbon dioxide. The different fermentations that develop (lactic, acetic, alcoholic) make the bakery products made with natural yeast different and recognizable:
• Greater preservation, as the acidity developed creates an acidic environment unfavorable for the proliferation of microorganisms such as molds, and delays a natural process known as starch retrogradation, favoring the extension of the shelf-life of the finished product.
What is sourdough
• Greater digestibility, due to an extended fermentation process where proteolytic enzymes break down gluten proteins into simpler elements, and the intervention of lactic bacteria reduces the concentration of phytic acid potentially harmful to our organism.
• Taste and aroma: during cooking, the metabolic transformations resulting from lactic fermentation and alcoholic fermentation interact, contributing to a more complex Maillard reaction, giving off a series of flavoring substances that give the finished product unique flavors and aromas.
Li.co.li.
Li.co.li. , unlike solid yeast, is refreshed at a 1-1-1 ratio (yeast-flour-water) and is in liquid form. Unlike solid yeast, it requires fewer consecutive refreshments to use it, but its high water content makes it unstable if not properly managed and refreshed. LI.CO.LI. can be kept at room temperature or, for a certain period of time, left in the environment and then kept in the refrigerator. It can be hand-kneaded or kneaded in a planetary mixer.
LI.CO.LI. adapts perfectly to our work rhythms, because based on our choice of refresh rate and management temperature, we have the possibility of having it ready in 6 hours or 12 hours or even with the use of the refrigerator up to 18 hours.
Depending on the amount of mature mother yeast we will add a different load of acid to our new starter, so in the following cases we will have:
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rateo 1-1-1 (we add 33% of acidic part) doubling/tripling time= 5-6H
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rateo 1-2-2 (we add 20% of acidic part) doubling/tripling time= 7-8H
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rateo 1-3-3 (we add 14% of acidic part) doubling/tripling time= 10-12H
Depending on the proportion, the acidity will decrease or increase with the rise of the ratio.
What are the correct refreshment rates?
Kneading our natural yeast cream allows us to achieve an extension of the doubling / tripling times and a low loss of gas resulting from the fermentation of our yeast, all of which results in a stronger and more reactive LI.CO.LI. even managing it in the refrigerator at +4°C.