Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the emotional and physical connection bakers have with their sourdough. I will explore why bakers make sourdough bread and what this human-microbial relationship between the baker and the sourdough mother means to the baker in his everyday life.

Paper long abstract:

Sourdough has had its comeback in the past years with the culinary turn back to slow processed food made with few ingredients. Sourdough loaves are becoming more accessible to the average consumer as artisan bakeries are popping up in every corner. Baking sourdough bread can be a long and difficult process. However, a lot of people choose to go through the long process of making their own sourdough at home, which can take up to 72 hours.

In order to bake good sourdough bread you need to have a healthy sourdough mother that needs regular feedings. A healthy sourdough mother consists of millions of microbes that work together to ferment the bread and give it its rise. To bake a good sourdough loaf the baker is therefore dependent on the sourdough mother and the microbes to function properly. In order to do so the microbes and the sourdough mother depend on the baker to feed them regularly. Sourdough baking is therefore based on the symbiosis of the baker and the microbes within the sourdough.

This paper, based on an ongoing qualitative research on the connection between sourdough bakers and their sourdough, focuses on the emotional and physical connection bakers have with their sourdough. I will explore why bakers make sourdough bread, what baking represents for them, how the behavior of the sourdough mother and the dough affects the baker himself and what this human-microbial relationship between the baker and the sourdough mother means to the baker in his everyday life.