Hi! I’ve started to bake Spelt bread.
I’ve tried with dried Yeast, fresh Yeast and sourdough.
My wife doesn’t like the acidity of the ones I made with sourdough so I’ve baking mainly with dried yeast.
What’s the real difference besides the acidity? which one is better?
Here are some of the results :)
Well, sourdough is yeast, just not concentrated. But it also has other microbes working, specifically lactobacilli.
It’s the lactobacilli that make sourdough sour.
So, “better” is a matter of your intended results.
Generally, the longer you ferment with sourdough, the more acidic you’ll get. And, generally, feeding the starter more frequently slightly reduces that acidity. It’s about how populous the lactobacilli are when you start your dough. The lactobacilli aren’t quite as fast growing as yeast, so when you feed more often, the yeast is a bit more present, and the lactobacilli a bit less.
Nothing wrong with commercial yeast at all. If that’s what y’all prefer, taste wise, that’s what y’all prefer. It works faster anyway, which is often preferable for a busy home.