Sourdough: Ancient Superfood
History
Sourdough bread is considered one of the original forms of bread leavening because of its spontaneous fermentation process. The bread-leavening process is thought to have been developed in ancient Egypt in approximately 3000 BC then expanded to Europe, the Roman Empire, and Ancient Greece. Ancient Egypt was home to large crops of wheat and other grains that were cultivated by the Nile River Valley, helping to feed thousands of people every day. Remnants of bread were found along with wall depictions of the bread-making process in ancient tombs. Imports of grain from Egypt were popular in regions like Italy and Greece. It was the Greeks who began the process of making bread at night and allowing it to ferment more, they also invented new baking equipment and were instrumental in improvements to baking technologies. After the Middle Ages, the composition of bread began to change, with the presence of breweries barm was obtained and used as a substitute for sourdough in the leavening process. Baker’s yeast has replaced sourdough since the nineteenth century, due to its rapid leavening process and the adaptations needed to be made for mechanized bread production. Sourdough was first introduced to the United States during the California Gold Rush, which is also home to the most famous sourdough in the United States, San Francisco sourdough bread.
How to make your own starter
Sourdough has recently picked up more popularity as more individuals are interested in making foods from scratch, and its many uses. Typically, a starter needs 2 cups flour, a mix of whole wheat or Rye and all-purpose flour, and 1 cup water, allow this to sit in a warm area, typically the oven until it has doubled in size, and then you will discard 1 cup and feed the starter with 1 cup all-purpose flour and ½ cup water, allow it to double again, it will acquire a strong smell and be bubbly, then it’s ready to bake! Discard can be used after the starter has been active for a week. While sourdough is mostly used for baking bread, discard can also be used to mix into other products like pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, dumplings, and many more. Below I will leave some of my favorite sourdough discard and sourdough bread recipes. Enjoy!
Recipes
Bread:
https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/easy-artisan-sourdough-bread
Cinnamon Rolls:
https://jenaroundtheworld.com/sourdough-discard-cinnamon-rolls/
Pizza Dough:
https://www.pantrymama.com/quick-sourdough-discard-pizza-dough/
Pancakes:
https://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/sourdough-pancakes/
Dumplings:
https://www.pantrymama.com/easy-sourdough-dumplings/
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/sourdough-bread#:~:text=It%20is%20believed%20that%20the,Roman%20Empire%20until%20the%20present.
SN
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