Nostalgia’s impact on modern fermentation techniques

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Nostalgia’s impact on modern fermentation techniques

28 Nov 2022

Bella Foote

Bella Foote is a Chicago-based journalist who was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. After earning her bachelor of journalism at University of Missouri, she went on to pursue her love of all things culinary by earning an accreditation with Leith’s School of Food & Wine. When she’s not writing, cooking or writing about her cooking, Bella can be found exploring her new Chicago neighborhood, planning elaborate dinner parties with friends or searching for the next best restaurant.

KANSAS CITY, MO — In recent trends report from the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association, despite cheaper options in the bread aisle, many consumers are willing to spend the extra dollar or two for attributes like health and flavor, even in an inflationary environment.

It’s becoming increasingly important to make every piece stand out.

Essential to that is fermentation and, specifically, yeast. Larger companies typically use commercial yeast — either in combination with sourdough starter or in place of it — to produce their baked goods. It’s more easily controlled, requires less time and is more readily available. While a higher proportion of commercial yeast speeds up the fermentation process, it can also result in less flavor development. However, some bakeries have managed to find a balance.

“We use both non-GMO commercial yeast and sourdough starter, but generally less commercial yeast because of the starter,” said Jonathan Davis, culinary innovation leader for Aspire Bakeries. “For example, we like to add sourdough starter to our French bread because it adds more flavor complexity.”

Sam Zeitlin, owner of Chicago-based Zeitlin’s Delicatessen, a modern Jewish deli, has also managed to find that ideal balance between sourdough starter and commercial yeast.

“At Zeitlin’s, we use a little sourdough starter in all our bread,” he said. “We will also add commercial baker’s yeast to our bagels, challah and babka. We like adding instant yeast as a way to provide a more consistent, softer product. This provides the desired texture we want.”

In addition to a renewed interest in artisan-style bread, consumer behavior is trending toward a focus on foods with functional benefits and overall gut health. The impact of fermented food on microbial diversity in the gut and overall health is unparalleled, with sourdough and other fermented foods said to aid in digestion as well.

“Slowly fermented sourdough — done the traditional way with starter — imparts more health benefits to the final loaf of bread because the slow action of bacteria and yeast help make the grain in the bread more digestible, much like soaking or sprouting beans,” explained the founders of Yeemos, a family-run company that produces food cultures.

Likely born out of pandemic-induced isolation, many people began started making their own sourdough as the DIY bread craze skyrocketed.

Although some commercial bakers worried that fewer consumers would be purchasing bread if they were making it at home, an opposite phenomenon actually occurred.

“We’re starting to get really interesting consumer questions like, ‘How long is your fermentation?’ and ‘Where do you get your flour from?’” Davis noted. “Those questions would never have come up before. [After making bread on their own], people can appreciate how challenging it is and how consistently we’ve done it for more than 30 years. It’s not easy.”

Sourdough’s popularity, combined with renewed nostalgia, has resulted in many bakers returning to — and finding inspiration from — ancient breadmaking techniques and natural leavening methods.

“There is a lot of interest at the moment in returning to some old varieties of grain that have long since disappeared,” said Stephen Hallam, brand ambassador for Dickinson & Morris and chair of judges for the Tiptree World Bread Awards, during Troubleshooting Innovation, a Commercial Baking podcast. “But they’re giving different textures to bread. They’re giving different flavors, different appearances. And there’s consumer demand for that.”

Some bakers, for example, are experimenting with an heirloom wheat flour called White Sonora Wheat, which dates back to the 1600s. This consumer trend has led to experimentation among industry leaders as well.

“We are constantly experimenting with flavor profiles,” Davis said. “A lot of the things we’re looking at are alternative flours. When we first started, we had one bread flour. Now there are endless varieties of flours, from all these grains that are available now. And this all greatly impacts the fermentation process.”

Whether people truly yearn for a taste of the past or simply the nuanced complexity of a cold fermented loaf of bread, one thing will remain true:

The fermentation process has stood the test of time, and it cannot be bested or cheated. It is something communities have always known and a concept that has been passed down from generation to generation. After all, anything truly excellent requires time, energy and plenty of patience.

This story has been adapted from the October | Q4 2022 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.

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