Wild Sourdough: The Natural Way to Bake [Paperback]

Yoke Mardewi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2009

We have to thank the ancient Egyptians for the sourdough bread we know today.

Wild Sourdough is a hands-on and highly practical guide to sourdough bread-making at home.

With more than 45 easy-to-follow sourdough recipes, written specifically for home-bakers, Wild Sourdough invites you to go back to basics, using flour, water and salt then add in feta, walnuts, dried fruit or figs to create your own unique loaf. It uses natural fermentation techniques to create simple, wholesome and preservative-free, sourdough bread.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beginning with an examination of sourdough breads and instructions on making one's own starter, home baker Mardewi gives readers two paths to follow: the lengthy Dough Retardation method, and the quicker Straight or Starter Method. Once they've got their starter ready to go, Mardewi opens the oven, showing readers how to make basic Pain Au Levain, Ciabatta, Lavash, and even chocolate and gingerbread cake varieties. Having been originally published in Australia, metric measurements are converted for U.S. audiences, but the recipes aren't fully "translated": rather than cups and teaspoons, readers will need a scale to measure ingredients; even more frustrating, virtually every recipe calls for odd and unobtainable oven temperatures (Roasted Vegetable Sourdough bakes at 435 degrees Fahrenheit, Sweet Potato and Cheddar at 437, and Light Rye Spelt at 410). Crucial tips for achieving a crusty, crunchy result, such as using a granite tile, aren't given enough emphasis, and will likely be missed by readers stressing over their starter. Veteran bakers will appreciate the collection of ideas and applications, but those new to breadmaking will likely wind up flustered and frustrated. END

About the Author

Yoke Mardewi's wish in writing Wild Sourdough is to inspire people to return to their kitchens with beautiful flours, and to start experimenting! Wild Sourdough is written from Yoke's point of view as a bread-making teacher and home-baker, and she measures her success by how many people she has 'infected' with her passion and knowledge of sourdough.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New Holland Publishing Australia Pty Ltd (October 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 174110744X
• ISBN-13: 978-1741107449
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not for beginners - great book, recipes that work and the author will mail you back if you ask her any questions, September 19, 2009

By 

David T. Brown (Louisville) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wild Sourdough: The Natural Way to Bake (Paperback)

The book gives only the briefest of details about creating a starter, so this isn't the best book for beginners. Dan lepard, the The Handmade Loaf, gives day by day photos, so I'd recommend you know how to make a starter before buying this book. She uses bakers percentage in creating the starter, which is easy to understand. Ingredients will need to be weighed, but this is the only way to make bread anyway, I use a Soehnle scale Soehnle Page Digital Kitchen Scale, White. I wouldn't let this put you off though, the recipes include a couple of cakes also. What I really like about this book though, is that it is made for the home baker. I can't wait to try the 'bitter chocolate, cranberry and pistachio spelt sourdough'
I mailed the author with a couple of questions (her email address is in the back of the book), she got back within a few days and was helpful, so feel free to mail her.
I've made a starter, and then used this to create the light rye bread, so I recommend this book, the recipes actually work, but remember that with bread, due to different flours and water absorption you need to have some idea of what the dough should be like, and don't be afraid to fail, it's a learning curve.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Amateurish, poorly written, badly needs competent editing, March 6, 2011

By 

rolanstein - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Sourdough: The Natural Way to Bake (Paperback)

This was my first sourdough bread book. I loved the look of it - nice presentation and well bound, and although the photos were not of a professional standard, I felt that added to the "home-grown" feel of the book.

Alas, I discovered serious shortcomings once I began trying the recipes, and I have to concur with Barbara's review observations.

First of all, there are NO instructions for making a starter - an essential beginning point for all sourdough recipes.

Further, there are multiple instances of omitted ingredients, or inaccurate and confusing recipe directions. Worse, some of the more interesting recipes simply do not work. eg: the SD chocolate cake. I am no greenhorn when it comes to baking. I have baked many a good chocolate cake and know how to follow a recipe. I had my doubts about natural leavening being sufficient to give the cake adequate rise during the bake, but plugged on regardless...unsurprisingly, I ended up with a flat chocolate slice. Edible and nice enough, but a failure as a chocolate cake! I have never seen any other SD cake recipe that didn't require additional leavening agents like baking powder etc as well as SD starter - and for good reason. One wonders whether the author's zeal for using only natural leavening has prompted her to include some 'theoretical' recipes that do not translate in practice.

As a professional editor/copyeditor, I found the many instances of poorly phrased and repetitive writing irritating. This is not as serious a flaw as those mentioned above, but when it is clear that an author's native language is not English, surely some proper editing by a competent native-English-speaking editor is essential.

Lastly, as a keen home baker of SD bread, bagels, panettone, naan etc etc for 2 years now, I have built up a small library of books by the bread baking gurus, of which Mardewi is certainly not one. Whatever your level of SD baking expertise, there are far better books available than this one. For beginners, try Dan Lepard's inexpensive and excellent 'The Handmade Loaf' (not many pure SD recipes, unfortunately, but still worth getting for the ones that are included). Then there are the hardcover standout classics like Peter Reinhart's 'The Bread Baker's Apprentice' and Hamelman's 'Bread'. Well written, and the recipes are dependable. Some are truly outstanding.

To be honest, now that I know what I'm doing as a SD baker, I never even look at Mardewi's book. Her formulae seem rather idiosyncratic, and generally her bakers' percentages do not adhere to the tried and true principles espoused by experienced professional bakers like Hamelman and Reinhart. Some of her breads still taste good, but none of 8 or so that I have tried measure up to my favourites from other sources, or that I have since developed myself. Look elsewhere if you want to get off to a good start with your SD bread baking. This book held me up rather than setting me up with the basics.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Finally all natural sourdough breads with recipes you really want to eat!, September 16, 2009

By 

javajunki "javajunki" - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wild Sourdough: The Natural Way to Bake (Paperback)

First, a quick disclaimer...this book just arrived so I've not taken time to actually make any of the recipes yet however, the book itself is filled with beautiful full color photographs, easy to understand instructions and sour dough recipes that sound utterly delicious with very little enhancers, sugar or other additives.

I've recently purchased about a dozen top ranked bread books but a few things set this apart...

- All natural, organic recipes throughout. The author is very conscientious in using only all natural ingredients with very few sweetners etc...
-Easy to find ingredients. We enjoy baking bread so have nearly every ingredient in the pantry already.
- Alternative flours especially for those with a gluten intolerance or allergy. Use of rye,spelt and other grains is well balanced.
- Seeds, fruits and creative touches including mixed grain are used frequently. I love seed breads and multi-grains so was especially pleased to encounter numerous recipes using seeds and a variety of different grains.
- Big beautiful photographs including pictures of a good starter versus a failed starter...I can't tell you how much that would have helped in the past!
- Email the author! Still having trouble? The author welcomes your email. I've not actually done so but it is a nice gesture.
- Flow chart - I really like this because it breaks down each step in the three different starters for quick comparision and reference.
-Time. Another favorite...the author breaks down estimated time for each and every step along the way so you know in advance how long it will take you to "fit" the bread into your schedule.

I will try to update once I've tried out several recipes but these look very promising indeed.