Bakers are different from the rest of us, and bakers who work with sourdough are even more different from the rest of us.
Sourdough bakers are obsessional, meticulous folk, and they are driven by the simple, stunning conundrum of sourdough bread. Which is: how can flour, salt and water combine to make a food which is so perfect, so total, so complete? For there is nothing else in sourdough, and above all there are no man-made yeasts, which are the staple of most baking. The key to sourdough is the starter, which the writer Jeffrey Steingarten - a sourdough obsessive - describes as "a piece of dough in which wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria live happily in symbiosis, generating the gases, alcohols, and acids that give this bread its complex taste and chewy texture. Commercial yeast is bred to produce clouds of carbon dioxide for a speedy rise, at the expense of other aromatic compounds."
Steve Roland is making sourdough breads for Declan Ryan's Arbutus Lodge Breads, in Cork city, and he reckons that at present he has achieved about 65 per cent of the sourdough flavour development which his starter had when he baked in San Francisco. The secret of sourdough lies in the nurturing and coddling of the wild yeasts which are present in the starter, the basic dough which is replenished and reused with each new batch of loaves. As the American baker, Joe Ortiz points out: "Natural yeast . . . is a primitive, spontaneous ingredient that grows out of a mixture of flour and water. It is more difficult and time-consuming to use, but the resulting bread is not only more complex in texture and flavour, but will also keep longer."
The difficulty and the time involved don't faze a baker like Steve Roland.
"I've been experimenting and the sourdough is becoming more resilient. I mix the dough at night and let it prove, and I find now that I can stretch it more and I'm getting more character and flavour. I will be able to get the 100 per cent flavour that I had in California.".
Well, when Roland does achieve his 100 per cent, I reckon he will be producing a bread which will knock our socks off. For at 65 per cent of potential he is producing sourdoughs which are among the finest, most enjoyable and complex breads I have eaten.
To quote Jeffrey Steingarten again, "The world is divided into two camps: those who can live happily on bread alone and those who also need vegetables, meat and dairy products . . . Bread is the only food I know that satisfies completely, all by itself." When you taste Steve Roland's breads, you find that magical staff of life which satisfies completely. Here is bread which quickly becomes the staple of your diet.
There is such complexity and satisfaction in these loaves that they achieve the ambition of great baking, which is to be able to stand alone, unneedful of any support other than perhaps a little butter.
For the meals I cooked when tasting the breads, it was the sourdough itself which became the centrepiece of dinner, rather than a mere supporting player which is what most bread, with its compromised quality, is only fit to do.
This primacy for the role of bread is the ambition of every great baker, never better expressed than by the baker in Marcel Pagnol's 1938 movie, The Baker's Wife. The baker's wife has run off with another man and, unable to bake, he pleads for the villagers to find her for him. If they do this, he says, "I will make for you a bread so good that it will never be used as an accompaniment for other foods; it would be a nourishment in itself, a food for gourmands. One would never again say, `I have eaten a tartine of cheese on some bread'. One would say instead, "I have savoured a tartine of bread underneath some cheese".
Roland has that marvellous engagement and bonhomie which seems to be the staple of the obsessive baker. He started his career as a chef in the US, then travelled to France and cycled around the country, working here and there.
He returned to California and spent two years cooking in Olivettos, before heading again to Europe, with spells working in Switzerland and Spain. Back in California, he was soon baking full-time, working with Steve Sullivan in the famous Acme Bakery, then he made Italian breads in Semi-Freddos. This was followed by a stint at Noah's Bagels, and five years in The Cheeseboard, a collective-run shop and bakery "which has a different cheese for every day of the year".
He arrived in Ireland by a most unlikely route. His Norwegian wife, Tone, wanted to move back to Europe from California. Ireland was a suitable compromise. He spent some time working on breads with John Cooke, in Dublin, and then received a proposition from Declan Ryan: Let's see if the market is ready for sourdough bread.
"I wasn't looking for a job, I just wanted to develop sourdough breads," says Roland. but the project, a great tribute to Declan Ryan's talent-spotting skills, took off. Through just one outlet in the Cork Covered Market, they were quickly selling 600 loaves a week. Now, the bread is being sold through the Wilton branch of Quinnsworth in Cork city.
Roland makes three types of sourdough. There is the basic Arbutus white sourdough, and two variations on this, one with wholemeal flour, which also employs a little bran, and another with rye flour and caraway seeds, known as the New York style. There is also a wonderful ciabatta, which marvellously captures the air pockets which are characteristic of the Italian bread, and a cracking focaccia, dimpled with tomato, basil and garlic and a mix of Parmesan and cheddar cheeses. The focaccia also uses some sourdough starter, which gives it, as Steve Roland points out, "that nice aftertaste of sourdough". Our basic daily bread is one of the most adulterated foods we consume, despite its importance in our lives, which makes Steve Roland's breads, with their powerful sense of goodness and wild vitality of flavour, even more important.
The New York sourdough baker, Louis Orwasher, has said: "The traditional bread baker is simply a man who pays attention to the important things." Indeed.
Arbutus Lodge Breads, tel: 021- 501237, fax: 021-502893. Avail- able from On The Pig's Back, Cork Covered Market, and at Quinnsworth in Wilton, Cork.
Supreme for sandwiches
So, let us savour a tartine of Steve Roland's bread underneath some fancy ingredients. Here are some classic American sandwich ideas which beautifully entwine with the complex flavours of sourdough.
The TLT: smoked trout, lettuce and tomato
This comes from the masterly Dean & DeLuca Cookbook, and made with the excellent IDAS smoked trout, from Wicklow, which you can buy in supermarkets, it is subtle and splendid. The trout also combines well with the peppery assault of rocket, if you have some to hand. "Make sure you've got the best bread, the best lettuce, the best tomatoes and the best mayonnaise you can find! Good potato crisps on the side, dry vinho verde in the glass, heaven on earth," says the book. Absolutely right.
Makes 4 sandwiches 8 broad, 1 cm/1/2 -inch slices of sourdough
450g (1lb) smoked trout
125ml (4 fl oz) mayonnaise (more if desired)
12 medium-thick slices ripe, red tomato
Leafy green lettuce
Divide ingredients into four sandwiches. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Chicken, avocado and Cheddar melt
This recipe, and the one following, are cracking sandwich recipes from The New Basics Cookbook by Rosso and Lukins. This first one is a smart bit of nursery food.
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 scallion, very thinly sliced
3 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked
1 ripe avocado
4 slices sourdough bread, lightly toasted
4 large slices Cheddar cheese, 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick
Paprika, to taste
Mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, one teaspoon of the sliced scallion, and two teaspoons of the parsley in a bowl. Set aside. Cut the chicken breast in half down the centre. Cut each half into four long, thin slices. Peel the avocado, remove the pit, and slice each half lengthwise into four slices. Place two slices of chicken on each piece of toast. Spread half the reserved dressing over the chicken. Lay the avocado slices over the dressing, and cover with the remaining dressing. Place a piece of Cheddar on top of each sandwich (the cheese should be large enough to cover the toast; or use several smaller pieces).
Sprinkle lightly with the paprika and the remaining scallion slices. Preheat the grill. Place the sandwiches in a grill pan and grill 3 inches from the heat until the cheese melts about 90 seconds. Remove the pan from the grill and sprinkle the sandwiches with the remaining teaspoon of parsley. Serve immediately. Makes two to four portions.
Mediterranean Hero
This mega-sarnie is also known as a Nicoise salad hero, and the Italians make their own version of the Hero with Gorgonzola, sandwich meats, Taleggio, Tuscan peppers and anchovies. Steve's ciabatta creates the perfect shell for the Hero.
2 loaves ciabatta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 can tuna
2 cups Mediterranean tomato sauce (see below)
3 hard boiled eggs
4 leaves romaine lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley
Cut the loaves of bread in half lengthwise, making the bottom half larger. Hollow the halves out, using your hands or a melon baller, to create a shell. Use the insides for another purpose, and place the tops aside. Drizzle the olive oil over the bottom half of the two breads. Layer the tomatoes and red onion over the bread, and season with pepper. Scatter the tuna over the onion, and press it down lightly. Then spread one third cup of the tomato sauce over each loaf. Slice two of the eggs, and arrange the slices over the tomato sauce. Slice the lettuce crosswise and cover the eggs with the lettuce. Then spread the remaining tomato sauce over the lettuce.
Grate the remaining egg over the sauce, and sprinkle with the parsley. Replace the tops of the loaves and press down lightly.
To serve, cut into sandwich-size slices; or slice thinly for hors d'oeuvres.
Makes six to eight portions.
Mediterranean tomato sauce
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 can anchovy fillets in olive oil, undrained
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 can plum tomatoes, drained
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1.5 cups coarsely chopped pitted black olives
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine the olive oil, anchovies (with their oil) and garlic in a bowl, and mash to form a paste. Transfer the paste to a heavy saucepan.
Add the remaining ingredients, and stir well. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, stirring frequently, for one hour.
Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. Makes approximately two cups.