Page 20 - The Valley Table - Summer 2021

owner of Kingston Bread + Bar. “Natural fermentation
was the only way bread and baked goods were produced until about 100 years ago, and folks across the world have continuously kept up that tradition,” he says. “I think seeing it as just a trend is ahistorical.”
The origins of sourdough date back 4,500 years to the ancient Egyptians, when it is likely that the symbiotic relationship between flour and yeast was discovered through a fateful accident. Still, it is hard to deny the popularity that sourdough has acquired recently. Home bakers account for much of the latest growth, but sourdough has always held some level of cult celebrity in the food world, with fabled locales like San Francisco hosting mystical strains of yeast.
The reasons for sourdough reverence range from health preferences to texture. “When you use a bacteria to break down the starches in your grain, you make it digestible,” explains Roy. “That’s the real reason I do it — on top of the fact that I happen to love the taste. It’s more complex; it’s more interesting. It’s got a different structure, a more interesting crust, [and] better coloration.”
With such adulation heaped on sourdough, one has to ask: Why use commercial yeast at all?
As is often the case, the answer lies in the question. The 20th century saw the rise of commercial bakeries and with them, the need for more reliable methods of bread production. Cultivated yeast allowed these companies to produce a consistent product on a regular timeline and
at massive scale. For much of the 1900s, this satisfied
Norman Jean Roy, Breadfolks in Hudson
18 the valley table june – aug 2021