Sourdough Culture: A History of Bread Making from Ancient to Modern Bakers

by Eric Pallant

Sourdough bread fueled the labor that built the Egyptian pyramids. The Roman Empire distributed free sourdough loaves to its citizens to maintain political stability. More recently, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, sourdough bread baking became a global phenomenon as people contended with being confined to their homes and sought distractions from their fear, uncertainty, and grief. In Sourdough Culture , environmental science professor Eric Pallant shows how throughout history, sourdough bread baking has always been about survival.

Sourdough Culture presents the history and rudimentary science of sourdough bread baking from its discovery more than six thousand years ago to its still-recent displacement by the innovation of dough-mixing machines and fast-acting yeast. Pallant traces the tradition of sourdough across continents, from its origins in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent to Europe and then around the world. Pallant also explains how sourdough fed some of history’s most significant figures, such as Plato, Pliny the Elder, Louis Pasteur, Marie Antoinette, Martin Luther, and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and introduces the lesser-known—but equally important—individuals who relied on sourdough bread for ancient Roman bakers, medieval housewives, Gold Rush miners, and the many, many others who have produced daily sourdough bread in anonymity.

Each chapter of Sourdough Culture is accompanied by a selection from Pallant’s own favorite recipes, which span millennia and traverse continents, and highlight an array of approaches, traditions, and methods to sourdough bread baking. Sourdough Culture is a rich, informative, engaging read, especially for bakers—whether skilled or just beginners. More importantly, it tells the important and dynamic story of the bread that has fed the world.

Genres: History, Food, Nonfiction, Science, Anthropology, Cooking, Cookbooks

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 14, 2021

Reviews

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would normally be 4 stars for me, but I'm bumping it to 5 stars to counterbalance the person who gave it only one star without leaving a review. (Eyeroll)

This is a good history of bread in general / sourdough in particular. Pallant's interest in sourdough is begun by a starter which purportedly originated in Cripple Creek, Colorado during the 19th century gold rush. He was given some of the starter in the 1970s and has been baking it ever since.

Pallant traces the history of sourdough bread through ancient Egypt, biblical times, the Dark Ages in Europe, the French revolution, and to the miners of Colorado and California who traveled with starters with them in their clothes to keep them warm (thus earning the nickname "Sourdoughs"). He also briefly discusses sourdough's resurgence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chock full of historical tidbits and delectable sounding sourdough recipes, this book is perfect for history buffs and bread lovers alike!

[Wick Welker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a bonified sourdough dork and after reading this I feel so seen.

This is a highly engaging read as the author tries to find the origin of his old sourdough starter. He is an unabashed sourdough dork and goes to great length on his journey. Along the way, he'll regal you with the history of sourdough and bread and the resurgence of its popularity. Even if you know nothing about sourdough, you could enjoy this. Fantastic book.

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating food history book that regards the history of bread, sourdough in particular, across the span of human history, as the author seeks to authenticate and understand the storied sourdough starter that's been in his possession for decades. There are scattered recipes throughout, but this is not a cookbook, but a fine example of creative nonfiction, with a personal story woven into a broader tale.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pallant has written an interesting and engaging book about the history of bread making from ancient to modern bakers.  The narrative starts with Pallant receiving a sourdough starter and his attempts to trace the provenance of this starter, which apparently came from Cripple Creek, Colorado during the 19th century gold rush.  Getting stuck with his provenance search, Pallant researches the history of leavened bread making from the "other end" of history hoping that this forwards-and-backwards methodology will meet somewhere in the middle.  Doing some research with the assistance of archaeologists, archivists and master bakers, the history of sourdough bread is traced through ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, the European Dark Ages, the French Revolution, the British Industrial Revolution, the discovery of the Americas and the gold rush in Colorado and California.  Pallant also take a look at how sourdough bread influenced historical events and how commercial yeasted (i.e. non-sourdough) bread, which is more uniform and faster to produce, took over.  Interwoven within the historical, detective and microbiological narrative is the author's own sourdough bread baking experience.  This combination provides a compelling and fascinating story about one man's search for everything about sourdough bread.  I found his attempt to make sourdough bread from scratch - including growing his own wheat - fairly entertaining.  The experience was time consuming and not particularly simple.  Each chapter also contains a recipe.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book!!! Engaging and really interesting! It also addressed many things I’ve wondered about as a bread baker.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1988 Eric Pallant was given some sourdough starter from a colleague who said that starter dated back to the Cripple Creek gold rush from 1893. In the early 2000's Pallant had been using the starter continually and suddenly thought about how that starter had been with him longer than his children. He wondered if he could verify the origins of his starter. He also began to wonder about how sourdough bread started in human civilization and how it migrated from those origins to his gold rush starter in Colorado in 1893. Those questions led to this book that is as Peter Reinhart writes in the Foreword: "Eric's book invites us to ride along and see how scientists, theologians, laborers, bakers, soldiers, and bread lovers have interacted with sourdough since the dawn of Western civilization." (p. xii) While at times the level of scientific and historical details are high, the book is still very readable from a non-scientist/historian viewpoint. I was also pretty impressed overall with Pallant's drive to know EVERYTHING about sourdough bread. Each chapter offers a few recipes related to the contents of that chapter. Overall, definitely an interesting book especially if you're a bread baker or interested in baking your own bread.

A quote I liked:

"In the 1960s, when Wonder Bread reigned in America, sourdough bread was a form of protest - as was, come to think of it, simply baking a loaf at home." (p. 233)

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book to accompany an online challenge that I’m doing this year to learn/brush up on some old-fashioned skills. This month’s focus is baking and particularly sourdough, so when I found this on the library app, I figured I’d give it a shot. It was surprisingly engaging! Part memoir, part detective story, part microbiology lesson and part history narrative, the author weaves together his search for the origins of his 100+ year old sourdough starter with the history of bread from ancient Egypt through the pandemic lockdowns. I learned a lot of interesting things about the role that sourdough has played in history, how commercial yeasted breads took over (and why the sliced bread in the grocery store is so gross, seriously). I couldn’t try any of the included recipes because my own starter is completely failing at starting so far, but they sound delicious. And this has been a good encouragement for me to keep trying.

[Margot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading this book. Pallant's writing style and thorough research made this book feel extremely well rounded with information, stories, baking tips, and excellent representation. I was so pleased to learn about indigenous and women's contributions - aspects that are often missing from historical agriculture/sourdough narratives. Great writing that was easy and entertaining to read - even some good humor rolled in! Honestly improved my baking to have this understanding.
Cannot recommend enough!

[Micheala Petruso · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple months ago, I went down a rabbit hole trying to find a good book about the history of bread, and while I found books on seeds, mushrooms, and what felt like every other conceivable food, I couldn't find a single one that looked like a good, interesting history of bread. To my surprise, however, not even a month after this search, I saw my local co-opt was holding a lecture and signing of a history of bread by a local author. I wasn't able to attend the event, but I quickly ordered the book and, to my delight, this was exactly what I was looking for. An interesting mix of history, science, culture, and the author's own reflections and search for the origins of his own starter, I found Pallant's book well-researched and, overall, a fun and enjoyable read.

The extra recipes scattered throughout the book were another definite plus!

[hannah cottrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

|| 5 ⭐️ ||

The closing chapter of this book was written so beautifully it made me tear up, so there’s that.

This is a splendid deep-dive into the history and science and art of sourdough, written in such a creative and comprehensive manner. I learned so much! Turns out the history of bread is fascinating. It was also neat following the possible journey taken by Eric’s century(+) old starter; the way that was woven through the whole book.

Sourdough rocks, and I my appreciation for it has grown significantly thanks to this book. I’m excited to continue baking and to see where my sourdough journey takes me next!

[Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched history of sourdough.

[Daniel Polansky]

I read this book.

[Maral Kalajian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, one should always be curious. Very fun to read and informative. So much more respect to my sourdough starter.

Also Steve Jobs even mentioned in a sourdough book! It’s connecting my dots! Highly recommend it

[groooovy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️🍞🥖🥐!!! fantastic book! written in a way that’s interesting and entertaining. i learned SO much and feel like this is a really good starting point for anyone looking to read nonfiction.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having had a sourdough starter since the 1970s when living in St. Louis, I found this book on the history of sourdough (and bread) fascinating. I must admit, it took me some time to get through the Ancient time chapter but as the chapters moved toward modern times, my interest increased and reading time sped up. Pallant wove the story of sourdough (especially his starters from Cripple Creek and Pennsylvania) with the story of the development of yeast. His foray into the science of both and his travels to locate their origins added depth to the story of the book. I especially enjoyed the sections on Fleishman's yeast and the various bread research labs/scientists that he visited. I would agree with Pallant's dislike of modern "Wonder Bread"-- something I never liked. My grandmother baked lots of bread (and pies) but I don't remember encountering sourdough until a neighbor in St. Louis introduced me to it and provided the starter, instructions, and recipes. My favorite use of the starter for most of the years from that time until the pandemic hit was for sourdough pancakes made with the recipe given to me by that neighbor. Now, I've been baking all our bread. I've tried several non-sourdough varieties -- Annadama Bread, several No-knead bread recipes published in the newspapers -- but tend to revert back to past sourdough bread recipes I've used or more recent ones found in Josey Baker's Bread Book.

[Anissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really well done. I love a good nonfiction about food, but occasionally some of them drag or I find them far to tangential to follow. Sourdough Culture didn’t have these problems. Eric Pallant has a sourdough culture rumored to be from the Gold Rush era, and he embarks on quite the adventure to figure out if it’s true. Telling both a history of bread starting with the ancient Egyptians to modern times and his own personal history with bread he does his best to track down where his sourdough starter could have come from. Pallant’s voice really comes through in this book and I felt like I was listening to a story the whole time, even when he was giving facts or talking about history, something I personally love in nonfiction works. I intend to try some of the recipes included in this book as well and I’m sure it’s a book I’ll read again some day.

[Amy Pallant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the history of bread baking, is a well researched exploration of sourdough from the fertile crescent more than 6000 years ago to the time where we were all making it during COVID. Not only does Eric try to find whether his Sourdough started actually can be dated back until the gold rush of Colorado in the late 1800s, he also tries to figure out what makes each starter unique. Erics story telling-- of his baking exploits, his travels attempting to follow his questions about sourdough --is both fun and informational. Of course it makes you want to bake your own bread, or at the very least get to the nearest artisanal bakery. I absolutely recommend this book.

[Mark Dyck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I received an Advance Readers Copy.

I enjoyed this book immensely. What starts as a quest to see how far back in time he can trace his strain of sourdough starter, soon shifts to an entertaining history of bread baking.

I especially enjoyed how the relationship between 'pure' sourdough baking and using brewers / commercial yeast has evolved and complemented each other over hundreds of years, taking turns as being 'the best' to eat.

It's a fun read at the intersection of bread, culture and history.

[Stuart Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who is currently exploring sourdough bread making or anyone who is interested in getting a start (no pun intended), DEFINITELY read this book! Pallant summarizes what is currently known about bread baking from prehistoric times to the present with cogent explanations of the microbiology of yeasts and bacteria that make those tasty loaves. Almost as important, the author presents what we still do NOT know about what makes sourdough, sourdough. A thoroughly entertaining and informative book--including some basic recipes--for sourdough bread bakers at any level of experience.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever eaten bread, you need to read this book! The author creates a story that is part mystery, history, anthropology, microbiology, and cookbook, too! He describes the challenge of tracking down the "ancestry" of a collection of microscopic cells that have clearly become his passion. It's a great travelogue, too. All told with great humor and enthusiasm. Can you smell the bread in the oven??

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to get into this. I love sourdough and I was hoping to get drawn into the story of sourdough over the centuries! I know that's a lot of ground to cover and I know the author tried! There is lots of interesting historical stuff here, I just couldn't quite follow it. It felt like a history class where we go through "this happened during these dates," etc. Love the idea and the effort! This was a DNF for me though.

[Natasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first part, when the author talked about ancient history of baking bread, but the more modern the discussion went, the more I lost interest.

I do like that the author included all the recipes, I think that is very cool, to have a source with (estimated) recipes for ancient bread. However, I do not think it works as well in the audiobook format.

I think that Daniel Henning did a good job as a narrator.

[han · Rating 3 out of 5]

XDD. to chyba najlepszy opis tego przezycia. czytałam to na prezentacje z ekonomii. Gdybym nie musiała tego przeczytać wszystkiego w tydzień to moze by było ołkej, tak to troche przesada. To chyba po prostu trzeba lubić takie historyjki z przeszłosci zeby taka ksiąszka się podobała. Ale czegoś tam się dowiedziałam.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a lot about this book super interesting, but overall I felt disappointed that it exclusively focused on sourdough in the Western world, and, for some reason, felt the need to go on for pages about sex workers in a small Colorado mining town at the turn of the century. It felt gross, voyeuristic, and had zero to do with bread

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview and history over the last 10-12.000 years of bread baking. He keeps the balance of scientific, historic research to keeping the reader entertained with palpable stories and a way to empathize with the role of bread and humans of the past.

[Amit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for bread geeks. And for bread geeks, this is a wonderful book about the history of bread (and specifically, sourdough bread), peppered with the science of bread baking. Worth a read if you are into all that jazz. Like me.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rambling read, but interesting if you've pondered unanswered questions about the history, provenance, and chemistry of sourdough. It's not quite memoir, history, science, mystery or cookbook, but a mash-up of all of the above.

[Will Cowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide ranging and engaging history, easy and fun to read with a great mix of science, anecdote, history, and travelogue. It’s exactly what it says it is in the blurb, and I feel satisfied having read it. Makes me appreciate in new ways my bread making hobby.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the read almost as much as tasting fresh baked bread!