Pizza Today - April 2024 - 26

PH is the acronym used to measure acidity.
The acidity, especially in sourdough, is
where the sour comes from. There is a scale
or range that is used to determine how
acidic something is or the opposite known
as alkaline. You hear the word alkaline a lot
nowadays in regards to bottled water. The
pH scale runs from 0 - the most acidic to
14 - which is alkaline. Right smack in the
middle at 7 is neutral. It might seem counterintuitive
but the lower the number the
more acidic something is. To test the pH of
your dough or preferment you can purchase
a meter easily on Amazon or other retail
stores that look, and are, as compact as a
kitchen thermometer. Just like your handy
kitchen thermometer, pH meters need to be
calibrated but there are usually instructions
on how to do this and how to care for your
meter inside the box when you purchase
one. To use a pH meter, you'll want to
insert the probe end into your solution,
dough or preferment, wait a few seconds
and the meter will give you a reading. Usually,
these readings contain decimals as pH
is not measured in solid absolutes but can
be measured to a decimal point. The sweet
spot for sourdough I've found to be around
a level of 4 to 5.
Where does acidity come from?
The flavors and aromas we are trying to
achieve are actually byproducts of fermentation
between yeast and bacteria within
dough or preferments. With a sourdough
starter this would just be from the flour,
water and yeasts that naturally live in your
environment. The main strain of yeast we
care about most is called Saccharomyces
Cerevisiae, and the bacteria we are most
concerned with are Lactobacillus
(a.k.a. Lactic Acid) and Acetobacter (a.k.a.
Acetic acid). These two acids are crucial
when learning at what time has your
preferment or dough gone past the point
of no return, becoming too acidic or not
acidic enough for maximum flavor and
performance.
Now, the growth of a sourdough in a
general sense is like the growth and expansion
of a city over the course of decades.
The original settlers, yeast and bacteria,
move in and fight for dominance and survival.
Over the course of time and generations
(feedings), new flour and new bacteria
move in. They either blend with the older
generations becoming something new and
evolved or they don't survive. This happens
over the course of multiple feedings with a
sourdough and what was created in the beginning
is always a newer, slightly different
version of itself after every feeding. Yeasts
and lactic acid go hand in hand
because they can survive each other's
defense mechanisms. Both eat simple
sugars, but the byproduct they excrete are
different. As lactobacillus eats, they give
off acid. As yeast eats, it gives off ethanol.
Lactobacillus has a high tolerance for alcohol,
so they're like two roomies cohabitating
like peas in a pod. But, if you've ever
made sourdough and forgotten about it
then you've probably come in contact with
a product that is overly sour or not sour
enough. There is a balance that is needed.
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Pizza Today - April 2024

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