Sour Power

Right, stop chewing at the back, it’s time for a science lesson . . .

Sourdough is leavened using a culture of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that occur naturally all around us, particularly on the surface of cereal grains. Occurring in lower concentrations, and not the results of a century and a half of baker’s yeast breeding programmes, these “wild” yeasts take longer to get their mojo working. During the hours that dough leavened in this way needs to rise, all sorts of weird and wonderful things go on, some of which might be beneficial health-wise, including: