[arglebarnacle]

"With bread risen with instant dry yeast, it will definitely resemble visual qualities of bread, but the texture and taste will not be comparable to bread that uses wild yeast."

This is so wrong it drives me insane. The key thing is the length (and thus slowness) of the rise of the dough, not whether you use wild or instant yeast. Sourdough raised on a hot countertop for thirty minutes will not be nearly as good as a dough with a reduced amount of instant yeast raised at a cool temperature for three hours. The idea that all non-sourdough has poor flavor and texture is pure opinion, and silly at that. Any serious bread baker would tell you that that there are many many wonderful breads made with instant yeast--take the French baguette for example.

[oraknabo]

While you're right that good breads can be made with both types of yeast, there are definitely flavors you wouldn't be able to achieve with instant yeast because a live starter is often a much more complex mix of microorganisms while dry & instant yeast are more homogeneous.

[southerndrift]

from [1]

>Sourdoughs International is a family business dedicated to the resurgence of authentic sourdoughs. Authentic? Commercial yeast produces something that looks like sourdough but is completely bland and tasteless. Absolutely nothing tastes or smells anything like authentic sourdough. When you bake it with wild yeast and lactobacilli, it will taste and smell like sourdough should. There is no other way.

>The Industrial Revolution created fast rising yeasts that almost eliminated sourdough and did eliminate the lactic acid bacteria. As a result breads baked with commercial yeast have never equaled the flavor, texture and aroma of man’s first leavened bread. And never will!

That could explain the difference in taste.

[1]http://www.sourdo.com/