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..the oldest living family member

whenever I get guests that are interested in what I do, I introduce them to him, he is old. Very old. They say they older they get the better they are.  He is very active for his age. He is so versatile, and eats literally anything resembling flour, he is bubbly and springy.

Some may have guessed it by now, I talk about our sourdough. Now I have a problem, there is no way to say how old he really is. The farthest back I can guaranty is my great great grandma Lena (Helena).

She ran the bakehouse (a community owned bakery, owned by the township, since ovens were and are expensive and building one in each house was unheard off) for close to 76 years! She took the bakehouse over from her mom, when she died very young and unexpected sometime around 1900. She ran the bakehouse until 1976 when she left us in the proud age of 96.  

The sour I am working with was hers, and I take very much care of it. It has many offsprings, some live in Europe, some as far as Australia, and all are doing well, thanks for asking :-D

So, I can “proof” a sour that is at least 115 years old, but my Grand Gram kept telling me that her sour was more then 100 years old when she got it…..

How much truth is in this? I can’t say. One thing I can. I worked with lots of starters of the years. Some a little more acidic then mine, some a little more active, but I love mine, it delivers a steady rise, great sour notes, a fantastic aroma and a versatility that is unheard of.

As always, don’t believe me, please come and visit us at any farmers-market we  serve or pretty much every weekend at the Artisan Exchange in West Chester PA, and I will let you try it for free. Promised.