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500 sourdough starters from 4 continents yield surprises - Futurity: Research News

500 sourdough starters from 4 continents yield surprises - Futurity: Research News

500 sourdough starters from 4 continents yield surprises - Futurity: Research News
Jan 26, 2021 1 min, 4 secs

"And we found that where the baker lives was not an important factor in the microbiology of sourdough starters." (Credit: Lauren Nichols).

A study of 500 sourdough starters from four continents offers new insights into the environmental factors that contribute to each sourdough starter’s microbial ecosystem.

The findings, which also shed light on how different types of microbes influence both a sourdough’s aroma and how quickly the sourdough rises, may surprise sourdough enthusiasts.

For this study, published in eLife, the researchers collected 500 samples of sourdough starter, primarily from home bakers in the United States and Europe, and also from Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand.

The fact that 29.4% of the samples contained acetic acid bacteria (so named because they produce acetic acid), also surprised the researchers.

“The sourdough research literature has focused almost exclusively on yeast and lactic acid bacteria,” Wolfe says.

And, the researchers note, those acetic acid bacteria played a powerful role in shaping both the aroma of the sourdough and how quickly it grew.

On the other hand, many people may be surprised that 30% of the sourdough starters didn’t include the yeast most people associate with baking bread.

In fact, while the median starter contained only one type of yeast, the researchers found 70 different types of yeast across all 500 sourdough samples.

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

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