San Francisco sourdough
Photo: Tomascastelazo · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

French baker Isidore Boudin started Boudin Bakery in 1849 at the height of the Gold Rush, keeping a starter alive his descendants still use; a lactic acid bacterium isolated in the loaves was named Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis in 1971. The bread's sour profile comes from the local microbial mix, not the recipe. Acme Bread, founded 1983 across the bay in Berkeley, raised the city's bread standard a generation later; Tartine, founded by Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt on Guerrero Street in 2002, redefined what a country loaf could look like.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 1Hands-on 45 minTotal 24 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 200g active sourdough starter, fed 4 to 6 hours before mixing
  • 700g bread flour
  • 100g whole wheat flour
  • 600g water at 27 C
  • 18g fine sea salt
  • Rice flour for dusting

Method

  1. Mix the flours with 550g of the water in a large bowl until no dry pockets remain. Cover and rest 45 minutes (autolyse).
  2. Add the starter and remaining 50g water, pinching and folding through. Add the salt and squeeze through until evenly incorporated.
  3. Bulk-ferment at 24 to 26 C for 4 to 5 hours, with a stretch-and-fold every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours. The dough should rise by 50 to 60 percent and feel airy.
  4. Turn the dough onto a clean counter. Shape into a round, rest 20 minutes, then shape a final boule with surface tension.
  5. Place seam-up in a rice-flour-dusted banneton. Cover and refrigerate 12 to 16 hours.
  6. Preheat a Dutch oven inside the oven at 250 C for 45 minutes. Turn the loaf out onto parchment, score deeply and bake covered for 22 minutes, then uncovered at 230 C for 22 minutes until deep brown.
  7. Cool fully on a wire rack, at least 1 hour, before slicing.

Tip from the editors. Without a starter aged in San Francisco, you cannot get the city's exact tang, but a 10-day-old white-flour starter run cool gets close.

Where to eat san francisco sourdough

San Francisco sourdough in San Francisco

Boudin Bakery ★ 4.2

$ BakerySan Francisco sourdoughWalk-in only

Boudin Bakery in San Francisco is Isidore Boudin's 1849 Gold Rush bakery at Fisherman's Wharf, still running a starter through six generations of bakers.

Worth the queueClam chowder in a sourdough bowl

TipThe bakery's behind-glass museum at the Wharf is free; the clam chowder bowl is the canonical order.

Directions Book

Tartine Bakery ★ 4.7

$ BakeryCountry loaves and laminated pastryWalk-in only

Tartine Bakery in San Francisco is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt's Guerrero Street original, redrawing what a country loaf and a morning bun.

Worth the queueMorning bun

TipCountry loaves come out at 16:30; queue from 16:00 to be sure of one.

Directions Book

Josey Baker Bread ★ 4.5

$ BakeryStone-milled whole-grain breadsWalk-in only

Josey Baker Bread in San Francisco is the back-of-house bakery at The Mill on Divisadero, with stone-milled whole-grain loaves and the seedy Adventure Bread.

Worth the queueAdventure Bread (gluten free)

TipThe toast counter at The Mill uses these loaves; eat in once before you take a loaf home.

Directions Book

Jane the Bakery ★ 4.5

$ BakeryWhole-grain breads and pastriesWalk-in only

Jane the Bakery in San Francisco is Amanda Michael's Lower Pac Heights flagship, with a stone-mill grain programme and the city's best whole-grain country.

Worth the queueCountry grain loaf

TipThe cardamom morning bun is the dark-horse order; ask if they have any left after 11:00.

Directions Book

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