The age-old tradition of sourdough baking has taken the culinary world by storm in recent years, with sourdough recipes, especially bread, becoming a popular trend among home bakers and professional chefs alike. But what truly sets sourdough apart from other bread-making methods is the use of a sourdough starter, also known as the “mother dough.”
Sourdough starters are a mixture of flour and water that contain wild yeast and bacteria, which help the dough rise without the need for commercial yeast. These starters are often passed down through generations, with some bakers boasting about how long they have kept their starter alive.
In a fascinating twist, Seamus Blackley, the creator of Xbox, made headlines in 2020 when he baked sourdough bread using dormant yeast samples that were a staggering 4,500 years old. The yeast samples were extracted from ancient Egyptian baking tools and brought back to life by Blackley and a team of experts, including a biologist and an archaeologist. The experiment was a success, and Blackley hopes to recreate the technique for consumers.
Meanwhile, Boudin Bakery in San Francisco has been using the same sourdough starter since 1849, making it the oldest continuously operating business in the city. The bakery is credited with inventing sourdough French bread, combining the sourdough process with French baking techniques.
Chrissi’s Farmhouse Bakery in Gardnerville, Nevada, also boasts a collection of old sourdough starters, including a 233-year-old San Francisco starter and a 900-year-old Welsh starter. Similarly, Hobbs House Bakery in the United Kingdom has been caring for its sourdough starter for 68 years, even throwing it a birthday party to celebrate its 65th birthday.
As sourdough continues to captivate bakers and food enthusiasts around the world, the tradition of sourdough baking lives on, with each loaf of bread carrying a piece of history in its starter.
