A Spoon Full of Lovin'
History
Interesting & Fascinating Facts about Sourdough
Welcome
On this page, I'll share with you interesting stuff I bet you never knew about sourdough — at least I didn't until I read the books posted on another page of this site.
Ötzi the Iceman's Last Meal
The New York Times published an article about Ötzi, Europe's oldest mummy, who lived approximately 3,300 years ago. His last meal — consumed about half an hour before his death — consisted of ibex meat, ferns, and einkorn wheat. Investigators determined the wheat was so finely ground that it had likely been processed into flour and baked into bread.
Baking with Ancient Yeast
In August 2019, scientist Seamus Blackley baked a loaf of bread using dormant yeast recovered from ancient Egyptian pottery — and his culinary journey went viral. Working with Egyptologist Dr. Serena Love and microbiologist Richard Bowman, Blackley obtained samples from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard. The yeast was cultivated from the pores of ceramic pots once used for beer and bread making, over 4,500 years old.
A Craft as Old as Civilization
Every loaf you bake connects you to thousands of years of human history. The same wild yeasts that fed ancient civilizations are alive in your kitchen today. That's the magic of sourdough.