Sourdough

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsaʊɚˌdoʊ/

Definitions

1. A type of bread that is made using a fermented dough containing natural yeast and bacteria, resulting in a tangy flavor and chewy texture
2. This fermented bread product, distinguished by its leavening process involving wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, offers a unique taste and crusty exterior
3. Characterized by its distinctive taste from naturally cultured yeast, this type of bread is often praised for its complex flavors and longer shelf life

Etymology: Before it named a loaf, "sour" and "dough" were plain English words describing a mixture of flour and water and the sharp taste it developed when left to stand. The compound came into Middle English as "sour dogh," and its neighbours in other languages were built the same way: Dutch "zuurdeeg," German "Sauerteig," Swedish "surdeg." The phrase described a process, a dough soured by wild fermentation, rather than a bread with a special name. The word's American identity comes from the gold fields. Prospectors in the California Gold Rush and later the Klondike Gold Rush carried pouches of starter dough on belts or around their necks, keeping a living culture alive so they could bake bread far from any bakery. Those miners gave the word its senses tied to California, Alaska and the Yukon, and the image of a man walking the frozen trail with his starter pouch became part of the term.

Synonyms: fermented dough, levain

Antonyms: sweet dough