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A quick answer is that sourdough bread uses different strains of yeast or other bacteria (like Lactobacillus). Centuries ago, before you could go to the grocery store and buy yeast, people needed a way to have yeast around the house. The way they did it was by keeping a pot of live culture (living in perhaps a quart of water/flour medium) and "feeding" it daily or weekly so that the yeast remained alive and active. To start the culture, you take 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of water, mix the two together, and then add in some sourdough culture that you obtain from a friend (sourdough, in times past, passed from friend to friend like this). When it came time to bake bread, a cup of this live culture would be added to the dough to provide the yeast needed to leaven the bread. The pot would be replenished by adding back an equal amount of flour and water. If you take some of the culture out and feed the pot more flour and water each week, the culture will stay alive. Most people let the culture live at the back of their refrigerator (otherwise, it requires daily feeding). The strains of yeast and bacteria used in sourdough are acid-producing, hence the unique flavor of sourdough bread.

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13y ago

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