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Friscous® includes sourdough starter among its ingredients. It is the result of research into ancient leavening techniques launched about three years ago by our company together with expert master bakers from the Ruffano area, in Salento. An element capable of giving the product a rich bouquet of aromas which, combined with turmeric, make Friscous® unique and wholesome.
But what is meant by sourdough starter?
Sourdough starter, or natural leaven, is a dough made from a mixture of water and cereal flour of various types (soft wheat, durum wheat, rye, and barley being the most common), left to ferment spontaneously or initiated by adding a portion of mature dough from a previous batch.
Natural leaven served for centuries as the starter used in bread-making processes, long before the presence and role of microorganisms were understood. Scientific studies later demonstrated that it is a complex ecosystem made up of both yeasts and homo- and hetero-fermentative lactic acid bacteria.
Origins
Legend traces the origin of sourdough starter back to the second millennium BC, when in Egypt, due to a flooding of the Nile, granaries were invaded by water. The resulting dough, thanks also to optimal humidity, acquired a volume and softness never seen before.
Quite by chance, sourdough starter was produced for the first time in history. In other words, a spontaneous and diverse population of microorganisms (lactic acid bacteria and saccharomycetes) capable of fermenting the sugars in flour was created. After this event, the dough was left to be naturally contaminated by the air, and only later did people begin to set aside a portion of dough to start fermentation in the next batch.
Sourdough starter was used until the early twentieth century, when the advent of brewer’s yeast—obtained by industrially cultivating selected strains of *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* under strictly controlled conditions—led to its gradual abandonment.
Unlike brewer’s yeast, which, as we recall, contains only *Saccharomyces cerevisiae*, sourdough starter includes, among yeasts, several species of *Saccharomyces* (mainly *exiguus* and *cerevisiae*, but also *ellipsoideus*) and *Candida*, and among lactic acid bacteria, both heterofermentative and homofermentative species of the genus *Lactobacillus* (*brevis*, *sanfranciscensis*, *casei*, *plantarum*, *acidophilus*, etc.), as well as the genera *Leuconostoc*, *Pediococcus*, and *Weissella*.
Composition
Sourdough starter, in essence, is the product of combining water with flour and the addition of other elements that generate microorganisms, such as air, beer, potatoes, grapes, wine, or yogurt.
The starch contained in the flour, by absorbing water, activates enzymes which, through a metabolic action, transform and break down starch into glucose molecules that, in turn, attract microorganisms.
By assimilating glucose, these yeasts produce carbon dioxide, which is responsible for leavening and for the crumb structure of the soft part of the bread.
Once the oxygen inside the dough—also incorporated through the mechanical action of kneading—is depleted, the yeasts cease their activity and lactic acid bacteria begin to operate. Acting in the absence of oxygen, they initiate the anaerobic fermentation phase, during which lactic acid and other compounds are produced.
Lactic acid’s primary role is to sanitize the environment by increasing acidity, which is capable of eliminating pathogenic bacteria.
In order to maintain the yeast colony within the sourdough, it is important to carry out regular refreshments, that is, adding flour and water at specific time intervals. In this way, the sourdough starter is strengthened.
Situation in Italy
In Italy, many products still use sourdough starter during production. These are mostly leavened sweets made with sourdough, typical of traditional religious holidays. Panettone in Milan and Pandoro in Verona are prepared for the Christmas holidays, while Colomba is a Milanese cake sold for Easter.
Other local products include Bisciola in Valtellina, the Legaccio biscuit in Genoa, and sweet focaccia in the Venetian region, known as *Veneziana* in Lombardy. Durum wheat breads are widespread especially in Southern and Central Italy; among these, the best known is Pane di Altamura, which has obtained Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, as well as Spianata di Ozieri, Moddizzosu, and Civraxiu, all typical Sardinian products.
It should be noted that in Italy a certain legislative ambiguity persists, which tends to classify both industrially selected yeasts, such as brewer’s yeast, and the product of spontaneous flour fermentation (sourdough starter) as natural yeasts.
These are two types of yeast that in other countries are clearly distinguished through the use of different terms. In English, the term *yeast* is used for industrial brewer’s yeast and *sourdough* for sourdough starter; in French, *levure* and *levain*; in German, *Hefe* and *Sauerteig*.
In Italy, this confusion is partly due to Legislative Decree no. 502 of November 30, 1998, which in Article 8 defines natural yeast as something composed of “cells largely alive with adequate fermentative power, with moisture not exceeding 75% and ash content not exceeding 8%,” without providing further specifications. As can be seen, this definition includes any product capable of fermenting a dough, whether it consists of a single selected strain of organisms or of multiple microorganisms that spontaneously contaminate the flour.
Because of this legislation, many producers, despite using industrial yeasts, continue—somewhat misleadingly—to refer to something that has little or nothing truly natural about it.
This undoubtedly represents a disadvantage for consumers, who are increasingly interested in more natural, healthier, and organoleptically richer products, and consequently for small artisanal businesses like ours, which painstakingly use sourdough starter and strive—by investing in research—to revive an ancient tradition inextricably linked to the territory.
A. Vincenti
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