Popular Science - USA (2020 - Winter)

TALES FIELD

FROM THE

PG 117 DATE:WINTER 2020 ILLUSTRATIONS BYMASHA KRASNOVA-SHABAEVA

Like many Americans, I grew up on
white bread and never sourdough.
These hefty loaves require a starter— a
messy mix of flour, water, and microbes.
Bacteria ferments the starches into
sugar, which yeast then eats, producing

evidence in Switzerland dates it to at

least 3700 BCE. If properly cared for, a

starter with the right microbial mix can

last forever, and will consistently give

rise to quality loaves. However, we still

know little about the organisms in-

volved. So, in 2017, I created the Global

Sourdough Project to find answers in

starters from around the world.

We asked 1,000 participants to send in

samples of their homebrews with notes

about them. On an ecological level, we’ve

found that while the blends have common

components, some makeups differ by

know if those local species influence taste.

The devotion people give their starters

always amazes me. Many mixtures we re-

ceived had been passed down for

generations, sometimes across centuries.

One study participant shared a concoc-

tion named “Herman,” which she’d

received from her mother. Her own jar had

gone bad, but while cleaning her mom’s

fridge after her death, she found another

container. Now we have some of this be-

loved starter in our lab in Raleigh and we

bake it often. Not everybody is a fan—it’s

seriously tart. But I like Herman quite a lot.

kneads now

ROB DUNN,PROFESSOR
OF APPLIED ECOLOGY AT NORTH
CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

as told to Eleanor Cummins