Boudin's sourdough bread's unique tangy taste and chewy center has been a hit with San Francisco residents since the bakery first opened in 1849. A big part of brand's success has been due to its unyielding consistency—a feat only accomplished because the company is still using the same yeast culture that Isidore Boudin collected 160 years ago.
Sourdough differs from conventional breads in that unlike it's fast-rising counterparts, sourdough does not employ cultivated baker's yeast for its leavening process. Instead, sourdough uses naturally-occurring symbiotic Lactobacillus-yeast cultures, much like what is used to make rye breads. However, a side effect of using Lactobacillus is that it produces lactic acid during the initial fermentation process, which imparts sourdough's sour taste.
Since wild yeasts that make sourdough tend to be less vigorous than cultures baker's yeasts, they take much longer to ferment and cause bread to rise. Mother dough allows bakers to pre-ferment their dough before baking. This not only increases the shelf life of loaves but also gives the yeast more time to ferment and interact with the flour, which increases the complexity of the bread's taste. This mother dough is the secret to the consistent taste of Boudin's bread: since the strain of Lactobacillus-yeast cultures has not changed in the last 160 years, neither has the exquisite taste of the sourdough made from it.
Sourdough differs from conventional breads in that unlike it's fast-rising counterparts, sourdough does not employ cultivated baker's yeast for its leavening process. Instead, sourdough uses naturally-occurring symbiotic Lactobacillus-yeast cultures, much like what is used to make rye breads. However, a side effect of using Lactobacillus is that it produces lactic acid during the initial fermentation process, which imparts sourdough's sour taste.
Since wild yeasts that make sourdough tend to be less vigorous than cultures baker's yeasts, they take much longer to ferment and cause bread to rise. Mother dough allows bakers to pre-ferment their dough before baking. This not only increases the shelf life of loaves but also gives the yeast more time to ferment and interact with the flour, which increases the complexity of the bread's taste. This mother dough is the secret to the consistent taste of Boudin's bread: since the strain of Lactobacillus-yeast cultures has not changed in the last 160 years, neither has the exquisite taste of the sourdough made from it.
