Do you remember tasting your first bite of crunchy sourdough bread in San Francisco? That hard crust, with the soft inside crumb and that distinctive, tart flavor … Can you smell it?

Eugene Kam of Kaimuki couldn’t find any bakery in Hawaii that could provide that perfect sourdough loaf. So this professional wedding photographer went on a mission to make his own sourdough bread, despite Hawaii’s humid climate, which can compromise the final product.

Kam, 58, was determined to get it right. He tried recipes from Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, as well as other versions. Even though he followed the recipes to a T, Kam had many, many failures: soft crust, weak sour taste, a rise without enough height, burned crust with raw interior, and more.

Finally, about two years ago, he tried a recipe from the book “Flour Water Salt Yeast,” by Ken Forkish. With a few adjustments to the technique, using simple equipment and an ordinary home oven, Kam now consistently turns out bakery-quality sourdough bread that tastes as good as it looks. He draws raves from his wife, JoAnn, and his many friends.

Kam believes every beginning baker in Hawaii can do the same.

He starts with the origin of all sourdough bread: a starter, or “levain,” that makes the bread sour. Fermentation of the starter produces the distinctive sourness.

In fact, Kam still has a “mother sponge,” a starter that was part of the original batch he made two years ago, which he continues to feed everyday.

Although it takes about a week to get a starter ready for bread making, it takes just three ingredients to ferment it. And the steps are simple: Every day, about 80 percent of the starter “goop” is discarded, and water and two types of flour are added.

A loaf begins with a new starter that incorporates the mother sponge. Added to that mixture are flours, water, sea salt and yeast to create the final dough. Though traditional sourdoughs usually do not use yeast, Kam discovered that producing a good loaf in Hawaii requires just a tad: A half-teaspoon adds the boost to get the height of a good loaf.

Kam uses a scale to measure his ingredients to be precise as possible, and he has brand preferences: King Arthur for flour and SAF for instant yeast.

Recipes based on mainland conditions call for leaving dough out at room temperature. But with Hawaii’s warm temperatures, Kam suggests leaving dough in a cooler with an ice pack.

Instead of scoring the bread, his bread has creases, formed from stretching the bread and folding it over into the bottom of a wicker bread basket called a “banneton.” The creases form natural lines on the top crust. The loaf is then turned onto parchment paper, and after a dusting of rice flour, it is quickly placed into a hot Dutch oven. Any type of Dutch oven with a cover can be used to produce sourdough successfully.

Kam tinkers with the temperature of the oven during baking. His recipe starts out at 500 degrees, then decreases to 475 and then to 425 to ensure the inside is cooked. Kam further advises that you check the temperature of your oven.

One of his innovations is placing a pizza stone on a rack below the loaves. The bread never touches the stone, but it helps to maintain the high heat needed to produce a sourdough’s hard crust.

Sometimes Kam varies the recipe by adding a handful of dried cranberries and walnuts. But most often he makes a traditional sourdough, with its dark brown and hard crust, tangy sour flavor and wonderful soft crumb inside.

Although it’s not a last-minute project, Kam’s recipe is simple enough if you follow his instructions. Allow a week to make the starter, then a few days for all the steps, and you too can make artisan sourdough bread.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Adapted from “Flour Water Salt Yeast,” by Ken Forkish

MOTHER SPONGE

Takes about a week to make:
» 100 grams (3/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon) whole-wheat flour
» 100 grams (3/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon) bread flour
» 200 grams (7/8 cup) room-temperature water

Mix flours and water together and place in glass jar. Cover and leave out overnight.

The next day, discard 80 percent of mixture and add the same amounts of flours and water to the remaining sponge. Repeat process for 5 to 7 days.

SOURDOUGH BREAD OR PAIN DE CAMPAGNE PART 1: LEVAIN

» 100 grams (1/3 cup plus 1-1/2 tablespoons) mother sponge from above
» 400 grams (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) bread flour
» 100 grams (3/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon) whole-wheat flour
» 400 grams (1-3/4 cup) room-temperature water

In bowl, mix sponge, flours and water and cover with cloth. Let sit 6 to 8 hours at room temperature.

PART 2: FINAL DOUGH

» 740 grams (5-3/4 cup) bread flour
» 60 grams (1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon) whole-wheat flour
» 620 grams (2-3/4 cup) room-temperature water

Mix bread flour, whole-wheat flour and water. Use hands and squeeze ingredients together. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes covered with a cloth.

After 30 minutes add the following:
» 21 grams (1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon) sea salt
» 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast
» 360 grams (1-1/3 cup) of the Part 1 Levain
» About 20 grams (1/8 cup) rice flour, for dusting

Use hands to mix dough by grabbing and pinching to incorporate.

Stretch and fold dough over itself 4 to 5 times. Leave in bowl. Repeat process 3 to 4 times over next 2 hours.

Place dough in a bowl, place bowl in a cooler with an ice pack for 4 hours, or until about double in size. When dough is doubled, remove from container and divide in half. You will be making two loaves.

Pull each loaf by stretching the top and folding it over, repeating with the bottom and sides. Turn over and shape into form of your bread baskets or bannetons.

Dust baskets with rice flour, and place loaves in baskets with smooth side facing up. Put each basket in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

Place two Dutch ovens with lids into oven, place a pizza stone in a rack below the Dutch ovens, and heat oven to 500 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove dough from refrigerator, invert basket and carefully remove dough onto sheet of parchment paper.

To bake, remove hot Dutch oven from oven; remove lid and place dough resting on parchment paper into Dutch oven. (Contrary to other recipes, do not flip dough over into Dutch oven.) Repeat for second loaf. Reduce oven to 475 degrees. Cover and bake 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, reduce heat to 425 degrees and remove lids. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes. Test for doneness by thumping bottom of loaf for a hollow sound.

Remove and cool on rack 2 hours before cutting. Serve plain, with butter or with cheese. Makes 2 loaves.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 16 slices per loaf): 250 calories, 1 g fat, no saturated fat, 550 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 8 g protein, no cholesterol or sugar

Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.

Lynette Lo Tom is interested in passionate cooks who keep traditions alive. Contact her at 275-3004.