Instructions: Sourdough may be the oldest of all leavened bread forms. It dates back to at least 4,000 B.C., when favorable microorganisms drifted accidentally into wheat bread made by Egyptians. The dough, probably set aside awhile before baking, didnt rise very much, but it was enough to give it a lighter texture and a better taste. Word of this new bread spread, and curiosity was raised. Soon, adding ferments to bread dough was a common practice. Beer, grape juice, wine, and wheat flour porridge left to "go sour" were leavening regulars in the ancient world. Still, the demanding process of leavening bread made such bread a scarce food well into the Middle Ages.

The original leavening process took many forms. The most common was to leave a piece of dough from each days baking and incorporate it into the next days mix. This method created the early ancestor of the sourdough starters we know and love today. Legend has it that sourdough starters made their way to America in the hold of Columbus ship. By the mid-19th century, starters were vital to both prospectors and pioneers.

Prospectors carried the starter in their backpacks to make a batch of bread whenever the spirit and hunger moved them. This saved an arduous, if not impossible, trek to the nearest town for a bit of yeast. By 1849 sourdough had gathered fame throughout the country.

"Sourdough" even become the nickname for the California Klondike miners at the turn of the century. So important was their leavener that during the harsh winter prospectors slept with their starters to keep them from freezing. The son of an Alaskan "sourdough" wrote that every miners cabin featured, hanging over its red-hot stove, a "tin full of fermented dough, used in place of yeast in making bread, biscuits and flapjacks". A bubbling jar or aromatic starter was also the secret weapon of many pioneer wives and bachelors in the 19th century. The jar held the key to delicious breads and biscuits when milk was as scarce as yeast. The "sponge", as it was called, was carried carefully in covered wagons and fed faithfully to keep it alive.

Much like a generous friend, the starter fed many families well. Starters were passed from friend to friend and from generation to generation. As bread made from sourdough developed its own unique flavor, it gathered a legion of defenders who created a sourdough mystique. The legion continued to grow even after yeast become readily available. For some, bread made from packaged yeast cannot duplicate the tart flavor and aroma of a sourdough bread, and these bakers remain true to that old friend who waits faithfully for them in a little jar in their refrigerator.

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