Bread baking, on of the main processes of the global food industry, has been carried out during thousands of years with the use of microbial consortia composed of different yeast genera (Candida, Saccharomyces, Kzachstania, etc), associated to a diversity of lactobacilli. This was, until the nineteenth century, the traditional way of baking bread, which was then substituted by the use of pressed baker’s yeast, with the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the only raising agent. Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a growing interest in recovering the use of sourdough with natural yeast and lactobacilli, as this results in an improved structure and preservation of the bread (due to the production of lactic and acetic acid), in increases its organoleptic properties (aroma and taste) and it improves its digestibility. This is why we have created Masa Mater, to make homemade sourdough bread more accessible to everyone. From bread-lovers for bread-lovers.
What is a sourdough?
Sourdough is a microbial consortia composed of yeast and bacteria that grows in a mixture of water and flour. It has 100-fold more bacterial cells than yeast cells.
During the baking process
During the baking process, Maillard reactions take place between amino acids and reducing sugars. This gives the bread – and other ‘toasted’ foodstuff -, its distinctive toasted taste.
Fermentation
To ferment the dough, the sourdough starter culture is mixed with more flour, water and salt. The yeast uses the glucose and produces carbon dioxide (this helps the bread raise) and ethanol (which evaporates during baking).
Final products
The bacteria use glucose and maltose and produce lactic acid and aromatic compounds.
How to make sourdough bread from scratch
Here is our recipe for the preparation of Masa Mater Secale: Receta del Secale de Masa Mater. Enjoy! And check out our blog (El horno de Masa Mater) for more information on sourdough bread.