SOURDOUGH SEPTEMBER
Sourdough September celebrates the world’s oldest leavened bread, giving everyone a chance to enjoy this delicious delight the entire month.
#SourdoughSeptember
The entire month of September provides opportunity for bread baker’s across the world to share their talent of making sourdough bread. Initially starting as a campaign, this month long bread holiday has turned into a food celebration.
What is sourdough bread? Unlike dry yeast breads, sourdough bread begins from a “starter” that contains a live culture of yeast. Interestingly, a sourdough starter can be a saved piece of sourdough bread from a previous or old piece of bread. The “sour” part of the dough is created by adding water and flour every week to the old piece of bread until it becomes fermented. Basically, a process naturally occurs between the yeast and “good” bacteria causes the mixture to sour and prompts growth. That growth eventually becomes a loaf of bread.
Can you make a sourdough starter from scratch? Making a sourdough starter is super easy. You want to make wild yeast, which is 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water mixed into a paste. Over a period of about seven days, you’re going to remove, add, feed, and mix your wild yeast. You can visit any baking website on the Internet for a standard recipe. However, you might want to ask a family member if they have a recipe before you search the world wide web.
Did You Know?
- It is believed sourdough originated in Ancient Egyptian times around 1500 BC.
- It appears the French bakers receive credit for bringing sourdough bread to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush in 1848.
- San Francisco bakers are using the same sourdough culture used during the Gold Rush. In fact, to this day bakers refer to it to as the “Mother dough.”
- Louise Boudin risked her life to save the original “Mother dough” during the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.
- You should bake sourdough bread in glass because the metal in baking sheets causes the dough to corrode.
Is sourdough bread healthier than other breads? Yes! Sourdough bread is considered to be the least processed bread because of so few ingredients. It’s also easier to digest because the bread acts as a prebiotic, meaning the bread fiber helps to process the good bacteria found in intestines. Good bacteria helps us maintain a healthy digestive system. Furthermore, sourdough bread has been known reduce the rate starches are digested in the intestines. lowering the glycemic index.
Not Just a Bread
There are other uses for your sourdough recipes besides standard bread. In fact, sourdough can be used for several other things, such as:
- Crackers
- English muffins
- Pancakes
- Biscuits
- Pizza crust
- Pretzels
- Rolls
- Pie Crust
CELEBRATING SOURDOUGH
- Share your sourdough recipe with family.
- Bake real sourdough bread and deliver it to friends.
- Buy 100% genuine sourdough bread from a local bakery.
- Host a sourdough baking party, complete with condiments to go with your fresh sourdough bread.
- Create several sourdough starters, add baking instructions and give them away to neighbors.
- Attend a sourdough baking class.
- Enter a local bread baking contest with your sourdough recipe.
- Raise money for the charity Sustain.
- Tag and share your sourdough celebration on social media using #SourdoughSeptember.
BEHIND SOURDOUGH SEPTEMBER
In 2012, the Real Bread Campaign came up with an idea to get people to try, buy, or make their own sourdough. This food month began as a campaign to promote the benefits of real sourdough bread. Though the Real Bread Campaign celebrates food throughout the year, this month long food holiday shines the light on the baker’s who put time and effort into providing a genuine sourdough product.
Each year the Real Bread Campaign encourages people to celebrate through sharing. In fact, they encourage bakers and bread lovers to add their sourdough event to their Real Bread Calendar. Their website provides several tips and ideas on how you can celebrate #SourdoughSeptember in your area.
In 2022, follower Chris Young from Sustain reached out to National Day Calendar to request this trending holiday be added to our calendar. After researching it’s origins, we were convinced that this month long celebration was an excellent fix. Thank you Chris Young! If you would like more information about Sustain, you can email them at: realbread@sustainweb.org