Sourdough is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities. In the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Michael Gaenzle writes: “The origins of bread-making are so sourdough bread bowl that everything said about them must be pure speculation. Sourdough remained the usual form of leavening down into the European Middle Ages until being replaced by barm from the beer brewing process, and after 1871 by purpose-cultured yeast.
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