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How to Make Desem (Belgian style sourdough starter)
Desem means starter or leavening in Dutch Flemish; it is also the term used for the bread made with this starter — desembrot or desem bread — though here our focus is just the leavening itself, which really can be used for any bread calling for natural leavening (or sourdough). Desem, like levain in France, barm in England, and lievito madre in Italy, is a method of natural leavening that define (food) cultures more accurately than political borders. The origins of desem are of a temperate climate, which is not surprising, as the ideal time of year to begin a desem culture is in the fall or springtime when the weather is not too cold or too hot.
When I first discovered desem back in the early 1990s, from The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book, it was summer in Georgia — not an ideal time to try to start a desem culture. My first attempt was a grand failure but this only spurred me on, determined to find other bakers doing this bread (made with this culture). Back then, there were very few bakers baking without at least a pinch of commercial baking yeast. Desem had a reputation for having strong leavening power. The culture, developed in cool temperatures, provides favorable conditions for yeast. That fruity/floral scent of the developing desem culture is yeasts. Although bacteria is also present, it is the yeast that is most active within these conditions. Its symbiotic partner, bacteria, will become increasingly active once moved from the basement into the kitchen. But we are not there yet. Let us begin at the beginning.
Freshly milled flour is the first step in the process. From this flour, one creates a stiff dough ball of flour and water, then buries the ball in a sack of flour, which is then stored in a cellar or basement or any other location that maintains cool temperatures between 50°F and 62°F. (See the FAQ at the end for more temperature information.) I use the term naturally leavened as opposed to sourdough to describe desem, as the scent of a desem culture is anything but sour. The desem culture should be fragrant, should express a fruitiness that hints of apple cider. You will begin with a bag of stone-ground organic whole wheat flour, and filtered water (if your tap water is chlorinated). It takes about 2 weeks to develop a culture; from there, she can be stored in the refrigerator.
Measure 50 grams flour (drawing from your bag of flour) into a medium bowl and add 25 grams water. Mix and form into a stiff dough ball. Bury this ball deep into the bag of flour, about halfway down, so the dough is fully immersed and surrounded by flour. Close the bag and place it in a container such as a bucket or crock and cover with a lid. Store the container in a cool place, ideally a basement. You want the temperature to remain around 55°F. In the range of 50-62°F works, where on the warm end, you will just have to feed more often and on the cooler end, less often. See FAQ at the end for more temperature information.
Day 1
Every 2 to 3 days, retrieve the dough ball from the bag of flour. Initially, you’ll notice the exterior of the ball beginning to dry out; eventually, a rind will form. Pre–rind stage, use both hands to pull open the dough ball and scoop out the dough from the center, discarding the dried out exterior. Eventually, you will be simply peeling away the rind to access the dough within. Measure 25 grams of water into a medium bowl and dissolve the dough in the water. Add 50 grams of flour (pulled from the bag of flour). Mix and form into a stiff dough ball. Bury the ball into the bag of flour and store the bag as before.
Day 2-3, and every 2-3 days until about Day 14
Continue this process for 2 weeks. As the culture develops, take note of the scent. You’re aiming for a floral scent. Sometimes the developing culture can initially have an off smell and then land in the floral zone after a few days, so don’t worry if a few feedings don’t smell quite right; however, if she begins to smell very wrong (trust your senses), discard most of the dough ball— all but about a dime’s worth—dissolve the portion you’ve retained in 25 grams of water, and add 50 grams of flour. Mix and form into a dough ball, and continue the process as before, perhaps this time engaging with your developing culture daily, instead of every few days to ensure success.
Once fully developed, the mother culture is stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It is no longer formed into a ball but it is still covered with additional flour. It is fed at a higher hydration (more water) as it will now live in an environment with cooler temperatures. I personally prefer a glass container over plastic, and as a home bakery, use a half-pint mason jar, though a plastic pint container works, too. To bake bread with your desem, you will build a levain (offshoot starter) from the mother culture in the specifications indicated by your recipe.
Maintaining Your Mature Desem Culture
Before replenishing your culture, scoop out the flour that was sprinkled on top of the mother and the top layer of the mother culture, about a heaping tablespoon. Toss out the latter (into the compost). To replenish, refer to the “Maintenance Feed” table below and add the water directly to the container with the remaining culture, breaking apart the culture with a spoon. (I prefer a tablespoon-size stainless-steel spoon). Next, add the reserved flour and mix into a cohesive form. Press the culture down into the container, sprinkle extra flour on top, cover, and place back in the refrigerator. In the colder months, you may want to leave her out on the counter at room temperature for an hour or two just to wake her up a bit. You will establish a relationship with your culture and begin to understand her needs.
Maintenance Feed
* The amount of mother culture you use in the refreshment is up to you. You might use less if you harvest a lot for a large levain build or if you want to store the mother in your refrigerator for longer than usual.
FAQS
Can I make desem at a warmer or cooler temp than the temperature range of 50-62°F?
Development in a cool, dry environment is ideal for yeast development and the floral fruitiness you smell in desem. The question here is at what point, temperature-wise, is the environment no longer conductive to that yeasty fruity smell in a stiff culture of 50% hydration. My experience with slightly warmer is yes. One’s kitchen countertop in a cool kitchen totally works (62-65°F) but it will require more tending to. In the basement (high 50s), I feed my baby desem every other day or even every 2 days, but on the countertop it is definitely an every day activity. Also, I imagine as temps get warmer (above 65°F), one’s culture may not smell as fruity, and even warmer temps may cause the scent to go from fruity to sour, which is not where one wants it to land. I do think that as the temps get warmer, one may be able to slow things down with less hydration (with the dough ball as dry as possible) and coarsely milled flour (a coarse whole wheat). I haven’t experimented with creating desem at temperatures below 50°F.
How do I rescue a neglected desem culture?
If it has been quite a while since you have used your culture or if she just seems out of balance, you may need to rescue her. In a separate container (a glass jar or plastic pint container), pull a small amount, no more than 7 grams, from the center of your culture, and add it to your container along with water. Break apart the culture with a spoon and then add flour and mix into a cohesive form.
Leave the container at room temperature; every 6 to 12 hours, scoop out and discard a heaping tablespoon of the mother culture, then replenish with water and flour. Continue this process until she comes back into good form. This may take three or four feedings, after which she can be drawn from as your starter, replenished, and placed back in the refrigerator.
Can I use any whole grain flour to create desem?
Ideally you should use fresh milled wheat or spelt flours as these have the best chance of developing the fruity floral aromas characteristic of desem. I’ve only ever used freshly stone-ground flour to make my desem and I feel that stone-ground is key. In choosing what type of stone-ground flour, I’ve only started a desem from infancy with hard wheat. I’ve used hard red and hard white wheat, each with a different nose and each developed at a different pace. Back when I ran my Natural Bridge Bakery, I actually kept four mother cultures at one point—all but the initial culture were created by feeding my mature desem a different flour. So I had Kamut, spelt, and cracked rye mothers; and my wheat mother that was developed from infancy. I would say that all the cultures exhibited a fruitiness but each had a different nose. The spelt had more of a tendency to go south (sour).
Can I mix a dough with starter straight from the jar in the refrigerator rather than making a levain?
Depending on how long it has been since the last feed of your starter, you can leaven a dough with desem straight from the refrigerator rather than creating a levain first. The dough will simply take longer to rise and the bread will likely be more sour.
Do you have a desem bread recipe I can try when my mother culture is established?
You can try this recipe for 100% Whole Grain Stoneground Naturally Leavened Bread on the Carolina Ground website and here is Breadtopia’s recipe for the bread in the photo gallery above: Whole Grain Desem Bread.
Photos credit: Breadtopia
Instructions text reprinted with permission from Southern Ground by Jennifer Lapidus, copyright (c) 2021. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
How to Make Desem (Belgian style sourdough starter)