National Sourdough Bread Day
Try baking your own, enjoy your favorite sandwich or soup bowl, or even branch out and try sourdough cake on the delicious, yeasty National Sourdough Bread Day.
If there’s one thing any sandwich connoisseur knows, it’s that most sandwiches are made better by the addition of sourdough bread.
Bacon Lettuce Tomato sandwiches? They’re always better with the bite and tang of sourdough.
Burgers? Oh, yes, replacing a humdrum old hamburger bun with a butter-grilled sourdough bread pushes them to the next level.
Tuna salad sandwiches? If there is anything that can make this already delicious sandwich better, it’s putting it on a couple of slices of toasted sourdough bread.
So is it any wonder that Sourdough Bread has its own day of celebration dedicated to it? It shouldn’t be a surprise!
How to Celebrate National Sourdough Bread Day
Celebrating National Sourdough Bread Day can be loads of fun and filled with eating this delicious bread and sharing it with friends and family!
Eat Sourdough Bread
The simplest way to celebrate National Sourdough Bread Day is just to eat some, in one of its various forms, as the staple of your bread diet that day.
Start your day with sourdough bagels (and most people thought bagels couldn’t get any better!), and then prepare lunch with sourdough bread on a sandwich instead of using regular white or wheat bread.
For dinner, it’s easy to serve a rich, savory stew in a hollowed out sourdough ‘cannonball’. (This is just a loaf of bread that is baked round rather than rectangular like a standard loaf of bread.)
Then for a real surprise, have a sourdough chocolate cake for dinner. That’s right! Sourdough can be part of every meal that is eaten on National Sourdough Bread Day!
Try Making Sourdough Bread
Making sourdough bread in a home kitchen is likely to give the home baker a fresh respect for the work that goes into running a bakery.
Sourdough bread is not something that can simply be made at a moment’s notice. It requires a starter, which is living ‘wild’ yeast that has been nurtured and allowed to grow for several days before it is ready to be used. But once the starter is available, the bread can be made just about anytime!
The best way to get a starter is to glean one from a friend who is willing to pass it on. However, if there is no one nearby who has a starter, it is possible to make one using whole grain flour, water, and a mason jar, and then ‘feeding’ it every day with organic bread flour.
This will initiate the fermentation process that is necessary for sourdough bread.
Some people might find the process to be a bit tedious, while others think it is really fun. In any case, instructions can be found online. Starters can also be made from hazy apples, which is especially tasty for making recipes such as apple cinnamon sourdough bread.
Once the starter is ready to go, making the actual bread isn’t very difficult and just requires a bit of stirring, kneading and rising.
Share Sourdough Bread with Friends
Sourdough bread has so much flavor that it is delicious even just eaten as a slice on its own. Grab a loaf to take to work to share with coworkers.
Or host a little National Sourdough Bread Day party where the guest of honor is Sourdough Bread! Think of lots of different ways to make and serve this yummy treat, and have friends bring their own sourdough creations to pitch in.
Listen to Sourdough Bread Inspired Music
Listen to entire albums by the 1970s band, B.R.E.A.D. Or create a little playlist on Spotify with these bread-inspired song titles and bands:
- Song of a Baker (1968) by Small Faces
- Bread and Water (2011) Vince Gill
- I Love Bread (2016) by Parry Gripp
- Bread and Butter (2008) The Newbeats
Make a Donation to a Food Pantry
To share the love of bread, give a donation to a local food pantry so that someone else in the world can also have access to the bread they need.
It will be a great reminder of how thankful everyone can be for the bread that they have each day, whether it is sourdough or otherwise!
History of National Sourdough Bread Day
The history of sourdough bread is actually rather long. Sourdough bread is made from dough that has a mixture of the normal yeasts in symbiosis with a Lactobacillus culture.
This is a really big word for the culture that gives the bread a slightly sour tang. And that is what makes it far superior to all other breads (well… depending on who is asked, of course). Plus, this culture also provides the bread with a longer shelf-life.
What is surprising isn’t that sourdough bread isn’t a standard in everyone’s pantry, but that it was actually one of (if not the first) forms for leavening bread in human history!
In fact, in some forms of bread, it is necessary to use sourdough cultures for the bread to even work at all. Rye bread has a remarkably low gluten count, making the typical baker’s yeast simply impractical for helping it to rise.
Sourdough, on the other hand, happens to work perfectly in this type of bread. (See, we told you tuna went perfect with sourdough bread, that’s why tuna on rye is so amazing.)
In the United States, one of the most famous places where Sourdough is made is San Francisco, California. This is because French bakers brought the leavening to northern California to feed those hunting down that precious gold during the Gold Rush of the 1850’s.
So how did Sourdough go from being the favorite leavening agent for bread in so many places? Well, wheat-based breads don’t need the special properties of sourdough leavening, and it was gradually replaced by barm, a result of beer making.
Eventually, when purpose grown yeasts came into play, they were easier to use and they began to take over the industry.
National Sourdough Bread Day reminds us of the origins of one of the most important staples of our diet, and to remember that it still makes one of the most delicious breads available out there!
National Sourdough Bread Day FAQs
How did sourdough bread earn its name during the Klondike Gold Rush?
During the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898, miners carried sourdough starters to bake bread in harsh conditions.
They often kept the starters close to their bodies to prevent freezing. These miners became known as “sourdoughs,” a term still used for Alaskan old-timers.
What role did sourdough play in ancient Egypt?
Around 1500 BC, Egyptians discovered that leaving dough out allowed wild yeast to ferment it, leading to leavened bread.
This accidental discovery marked the beginning of sourdough baking.
Is sourdough bread always sour?
Despite its name, sourdough bread doesn’t have to taste sour. By adjusting fermentation time and temperature, bakers can control the flavor, making it milder or tangier.
How do different cultures celebrate sourdough traditions?
In San Francisco, sourdough is a culinary icon, with bakeries like Boudin using starters dating back to the Gold Rush era.
In Europe, countries like Germany and France have rich sourdough traditions, each with unique methods and recipes.g0bl9-u0h9ijkik8mo kn987molbikujkl;
What are some myths about sourdough starters?
A common myth is that older starters are superior. While some starters have historic origins, the quality of bread depends more on maintenance and care than age.
Can sourdough starters be used in recipes beyond bread?
Yes, sourdough starters are versatile. They can be used in pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, and even cakes, adding unique flavors to various baked goods.
How did sourdough contribute to scientific discoveries?
In the 19th century, studying sourdough fermentation helped scientists like Louis Pasteur understand microbial activity, leading to advancements in microbiology.
What unique tools are essential for sourdough baking?
Bakers often use tools like a Danish dough whisk for mixing, bannetons for proofing, and a lame for scoring the dough, each contributing to the bread’s quality.
How has sourdough baking evolved in modern times?
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a resurgence in home sourdough baking, with many people cultivating starters and sharing their creations online.
What are some health benefits associated with sourdough bread?
Sourdough fermentation can break down gluten and other compounds, making the bread more digestible and potentially beneficial for those with sensitivities.
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