Breaduction

The Power of Sourdough

Mmmm-that sourdough. What a great taste. Once you get into it, it becomes addictive! And of course there are benefits baking with sourdough: better tasting bread, higher moisture, longer shelf-life and better digestibility.

Brewing and baking were closely connected in early civilizations. People first discovered that soaking grain had nutritional and stimulating effects (beer) before discovering sourdough or the fermentation technique for baking. For all but a fraction of this time, bread was leavened naturally with airborne spores of sourdough culture. With what seemed a divine and invisible hand the sourdough culture miraculously created digestible bread.

Sourdough starter is made from water and grain flour, creating the environment and food for microorganisms to perform their magic. Just how does this symbiotic interaction of airborne wild yeast and bacteria work? Wild yeast turns complex sugars and starches into the food that the bacteria and yeast need to survive and multiply.

Since grains are complex carbohydrates not easily digested by bacteria, imagine a carbohydrate as a solid brick wall. It would be impossible for the bacteria to bite this food. It’s simply too large. The airborne wild yeast creates enzymes needed to break down this wall into manageable bite-sized pieces for the bacteria to eat. This interaction releases carbon dioxide, which is trapped within tiny bubbles, and results in the dough expanding (rising).

The synergism also creates lactic acid, acetic acid and ethanol (alcohol). Lactic acid contributes to better digestibility of the bread and gives it a unique flavor, while acetic acid adds flavor and is a natural preservative, lowering the pH level of the bread product and retarding mold growth. Ethanol is a byproduct of fermentation and creates that wonderful smell of freshly baked bread! All sourdough baking uses this soupy mixture to produce a variety of different bread products that can’t be made in any other way.