More than just a food fad, sourdough is an ancient practice of breadmaking that has captured our imaginations for centuries.
Among many things, a sourdough starter bubbling away on your kitchen bench means you’re taking care of your gut health through the proper preparation of grains. You’re connecting with nature in the form of the microorganisms and wild yeasts that are hanging out in your kitchen, and you’re slowing your life down in a nourishing way.
What Is It Exactly
Sourdough is the way people have made bread for centuries. Before commercial yeast and the quick-rise industrial loaf, bread was made using three simple ingredients: flour, water and salt. A sourdough bread culture – or starter – is made with a mixture of flour and water which, with time, captures wild yeasts from the air in your home and forms a relationship with the bacteria on the grain. When a small amount of this bubbly, active starter is added to bread dough it causes the dough to rise slowly over many hours.