Sourdough Bread
Yesterday at the farmers market I bought a loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread.
I have loved eating sourdough bread for a long time, and my absolute favorite is the sourdough from Boudin Bakery.
When I taught fourth grade at a private school, our class took a field trip from Southern California to Sacramento and San Francisco to enrich our state history learning. I added visiting the Boudin Bakery and Museum in San Francisco to the trip. They make small round sourdough bread bowls there that I would eat soup out of and then eat the whole bowl. On the plane ride back to Southern California, I would have large round loaves with me.
The whole wheat sourdough I bought at the market tastes different from that San Francisco bread, but I still like it.
What makes sourdough different
Most bread rises because a baker adds yeast bought in a packet. Yeast is a living thing, a tiny fungus. Yeast eats the sugar in dough and produces gas. The gas gets trapped in the dough and makes the bread rise. The holes you see in a slice of bread are where the gas was.
Sourdough bread rises with no yeast added because sourdough uses wild yeast.
Wild yeast
Wild yeast is yeast that already exists in flour and in the air. Yeast lives on grain in fields where the grain grows. When that grain becomes flour, some of that yeast stays in the flour.
A baker mixes flour and water and leaves the mixture at room temperature. The wild yeast in the flour wakes up and starts multiplying. That mixture is called a starter.
The baker keeps the starter alive by feeding it more flour and water. To make bread, the baker takes some of the starter and mixes it into the dough. What is left keeps being fed more water and flour. Some starters have been kept alive for over a hundred years. Boudin Bakery says its starter has been kept alive since 1849.
Why sourdough tastes sour
Bacteria live in the starter along with the wild yeast. The bacteria produce acid as they eat the flour, and that acid gives sourdough its sour taste.
Wild yeast works slowly. A sourdough loaf can take a full day to rise, while bread made with yeast from a packet can rise in an hour or two.
What the slow rise does for your body
Whole wheat contains a compound called phytic acid. A compound is a substance made of two or more elements joined together. Phytic acid holds onto minerals like iron, zinc, and magnesium, and keeps your body from absorbing those minerals.
During the long, slow rise, much of the phytic acid in the dough breaks down. So the minerals in whole wheat sourdough are easier for your body to absorb than the same minerals in whole wheat bread that rose quickly.
How I eat my sourdough
My favorite way to eat sourdough is to cook a three-cheese sandwich. I haven’t done that for years. Nowadays, I toast a slice and spread peanut butter on top with banana slices, add cheese and avocado, glob on egg salad, or spread a thick layer of pesto. Sometimes I pack a frozen slice with my food and eat the slice later when it’s soft.
You are welcome to eat bread made with wild yeast.
Stacy 🌺
Information in this post comes from my learning and research.
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I share my experiences and my perspective. Eating and healing look different for everyone. If you are struggling with food or your relationship with your body, please find support. You don’t have to do this alone.