Within the past decade, no artisanal bread has enjoyed a renaissance quite like sourdough — it has achieved an almost cult-like status.
Baking sourdough is a time-consuming ritual regarded as equal parts science and philosophy. It is famously made using a starter: a wild yeast that not only makes the dough rise, but gives the bread its namesake sour taste.
Sourdough trended during the country’s initial hard lockdown when many people found comfort in the kitchen. This includes these Joburgers, who used that time to perfect their sourdough recipes and have turned baking into a business:
1. MEAT THE MOTHER
Maryke Burger first stumbled upon sourdough in New York in 2014 when she attended a crash course on the art of sourdough by renowned baker Melissa Weller. Burger left with a small jar of San Franciscan starter that she’d use for years to come.
Fast-forward five years and, amid the lockdown, everyone who knew her was asking for bread, starters and lessons. She began posting instruction videos on Instagram. This quickly evolved into her own online store, www.themother.co.za where she sells her breads, starters and other sourdough and baking-related products.
A boutique baker, she makes around eight loaves per batch with flour sourced from small mills. Her recipe comprises a combination of flour, hand-ground buckwheat, and spelt with a hydration* of between 70 and 75%, dependent on the weather.
Her signature is her “Meisie”, an earthy, nutty, dark and hearty loaf. The bulk fermentation and 24-hour proving process results in a deep, tangy sourness while the psyllium-husk base contrasts with a molasses-like caramel
2. LINDEN LOAVES
Husband-and-wife team Matt and Caro Tapson’s artisanal sourdough business, Linden Loaves, has been a long time in the making.
Matt, an avid baker, has been experimenting with baking sourdough for the better part of the past six years. He has spent hours and hours researching recipes and techniques, and has taken inspiration from the best sourdough makers around the world, including the critically-acclaimed Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.
A sourdough from Linden Loaves.
Image: Supplied
Tapson was so inspired by Robertson’s work that he spent two months building an oven similar to the one Robertson learnt to bake with: a wood-fired Alan Scott retained-heat masonry oven. The results of baking in it were exactly what he’d been hoping to achieve: a loaf with a crust and crumb as described by Robertson.
The couple soon began advertising and selling their bread on Instagram. Recognising the demand, they converted one of the rooms in their house to a full-scale bakery and bake four days a week, producing an average of 150 loaves.
Their recipe calls for stoneground flour and a hydration of between 76 and 78%, and their signature Linden Loaf has a dark, crunchy crust and is soft and chewy on the inside.
You will find their bread at Linden’s Little Deli, Brik Café in Rosebank, and Service Station Café in Melville.