Sourdough bread resists mold, unlike conventionally leavened bread. Now Michael Gaenzle and colleagues of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, show why. During sourdough production, bacteria convert the linoleic acid in bread
Sourdough bread resists mold, unlike conventionally leavened bread. Now Michael Gaenzle and colleagues of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, show why. During sourdough production, bacteria convert the linoleic acid in bread flour to a compound that has powerful antifungal activity. The research, which could improve the taste of bread, is published online ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Sourdough is the best bread value.
I’ve always loved the tang of sourdough. My mother used to have a starter culture going when she would sometimes make her own. This continuously fermenting culture was just cool to watch and smell.
That is because sourdough does not simply use yeast to produce the gas that gives the bread its pores. It also has a mix of bacteria that work in conjunction with the yeast to metabolize some of the starches in the flour.
In the old days, the mix of yeast and bacteria were collected in the wild, thus making every starter mix slightly different. But these starters could be extremely stable, lasting for years if replenished. The starter culture used by the Boudin Bakery in San Francisco is the same one created in the mid 1800s. Over 150 years of continuous culture.
New bread would be baked by removing some of the starter and addin