There is not a lot of text in this book, and a lot of recipes. I was pleased that it does cover the classic sourdoughs described in [b:World Sourdoughs from Antiquity|609764|World Sourdoughs from Antiquity|Ed Wood|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1176272769s/609764.jpg|596246]. Thus you get the interesting background without needing to buy the older book.

This year I neglected my Original San Francisco sourdough start so much that it became time to buy a new start. In activating it, I got out this book to learn what it has to say about activating a start. It was similar to what came with the new start, but had enough additional information to be worth pulling it out. While I had it out, I went ahead and read the rest of the book.

I often recommend [a:Ed Wood|3409825|Ed Wood|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] to people when they have questions about sourdough because he is very clear about what matters, and what is not classic sourdough.

One part that explained a milk allergy that a daughter has, but only some batches of milk was on page 9, "Work on milk fermentation has identified a group of factors that inhibit the growth of starter bacteria in the production of cheese and yogurt. These include antibiotics present in the milk of cows that have been treated to prevent udder infections and in sanitizers used in cleaning milking machines. These findings point out the importance of never adding anything to your sourdough culture except flour and water. Further, if you experience inconsistent results with recipes calling for milk, inhibitors of this type may be involved." This caution is reiterated in different words on page 23-24.

"As you embark on your work with sourdoughs, you'll experience both success and frustration. Just remember that there is more art (thank goodness) than science in baking as our ancestors did, and the artist learns by doing. But don't forget why you're here. sourdoughs are for fun and personal satisfaction." (Page 25)

My experience with sourdough has been positively delightful. If bread using prepared yeast is to be made, I let someone else do it, but when we are to have sourdough bread, I am delighted to make it. ( )