The Real Bread Campaign is launching Sourdough September, Britain’s first national celebration of the bread.
New campaign ambassador, Duncan Glendinning of the Thoughtful Bread Company, Bath, said: “For me, the best Real Bread combines great crust, depth of flavour and fantastic crumb. Sourdough is the only bread capable of delivering all of these and the only type that actually improves with age.”
Genuine sourdough bread is leavened only using a live starter culture produced by mixing flour and water to nurture one or more species of yeast and lactic acid bacteria that occur naturally on the surface of cereal grains, and therefore in the flour.
As well as developing a greater depth and complexity of flavour, aroma, and texture than commercial baker’s yeast, some studies have found that long fermentation using a sourdough starter has a range of dietary benefits.
Campaign coordinator Chris Young added: “Happily Britain is rediscovering the delicious delights of Real Bread made with just flour, water, salt, time and care. Plain sourdough has the simplest recipe of any loaf and yet, like alchemists, the most skilled bakers can transform these three basic ingredients into a whole world of gold medal Real Breads.”
The 30 days will include: Aidan Chapman’s Phoenix Bakery in Weymouth shunning baker’s yeast for a whole month, instead using only a sourdough starter for all of his Real Bread; Roger and Sally Birt’s Red Dog Bakery in north Devon running a sourdough baking class on 6 September and a tasting on the 7th; and Tom Herbert covering sourdough as part of his baking masterclass at Hobbs House School in Chipping Sodbury on 11thand 24th. Other highlights are available on the Real Bread Campaign’s online events calendar.
On Twitter, @RealBread is running SourDOH! inviting people to name and shame sourdough shams by posting photos using the #sourdoh hashtag, and joining the #RealBread conversation.
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