Team 26305 assignment 3 presentation

Sourdough Bread:
A Colorful & Surprising History
Team 26035: Fred Lamora, Alberto Jimenez, Jorge Gonzalez-Garcia

The Original Boudin Bakery is Founded in 1849
In 1849, an enterprising French immigrant by the name of Isidore Boudin
started a small bakery on Dupont Street in San Francisco. He brought
with him a centuries old tradition of French baking, and a special gift for
making French village bread. The photo on the right shows the Boudin
family. On the left is Steve Giraudo, an Italian artisan baker who bought
the bakery in 1941.

Making Sourdough Bread in the French Tradition
Boudin was the first baker to combine the sourdough process with French
baking technique. The result was the first sourdough French bread baked in
the U.S. He would start with a hearty dough fermented with wild yeast, and
then form it into the shape of a traditional French loaf. The distinctive taste
came from the starter, or “mother dough,” which contained micro-organisms
that fermented and raised the bread. The original starter from the early 1900’s
is used in the bakery to this very day.

Egypt: The Birthplace of Sourdough Bread
Sourdough bread likely originated in ancient Egypt around 1500 BC, according
to historians. It was likely the first form of leavening available to early bakers.
This early method of using sourdough remained the usual form of leavening
until the European Middle Ages, when it was replaced by ingredients from the
beer brewing process, and then later by purpose-cultured yeast.

GROWING WHEAT TO MAKE BREAD IN EGYPT
Farming to produce wheat and other grains was at the very core of life in
Egypt. Survival meant saving a portion of crops harvested in case of drought or
misfortune. Wealth was measured by the amount of farmland a family owned.
The back breaking labor and careful irrigation produced the wheat, which was
made into flour, and which was then made into bread.

From Wheat to Flour to Bread: The Staff of Life
Farming in Egypt was dependent on the cycle of the Nile River, which flooded
and receded in regular seasonal intervals. Farmers plowed and planted seeds
in the fields which were irrigated with ditches and canals. They cultivated
wheat, emmer and barley, all used to make the two main staples of bread and
beer. The bread provided sustenance and the beer refreshment.

Feeding the Multitude:
The Miracle of the
Bread and Fishes

The Bible and other holy books are
rich with numerous references to
bread as the staff of life. One well-
known example is the colorful parable
of the feeding of the multitude.
According to the Gospels of Mark and
Matthew, Jesus took what his
disciples had gathered, seven loaves
of bread and a few small fishes, and
multiplied them in order to feed a
hungry crowd of 4,000 followers.

French Sourdough Bread in the 19th Century
French culture has always placed a high priority on the enjoyment of food.
And baking bread has been a central theme of village life in France for
centuries. It was this rich tradition of baking simple, nutritious bread using the
sourdough method that Isidore Boudin learned as an apprentice baker in
France. And the craft that he brought with him to California during the height
of the Gold Rush.

San Francisco: Sourdough Bread Arrives in the U.S.
When French baker Isidore Boudin arrived in San Francisco, it was awash in
newly arrived fellow immigrants from all over the world. The city swelled in
population during the Gold Rush period from 1848 to 1855. Everyone was
seeking their fortune in this new rough and tumble land, and baker Boudin,
newly arrived from France, was no exception.

Sourdough Bread and Gold Prospectors
Sourdough was the main bread made in Northern California during the Gold
Rush. The bread was so common that "sourdough" became the common
nickname for the gold prospectors. Experienced miners and other settlers
frequently carried a pouch of starter either around their neck or on a belt. Old
hands came to be called "sourdoughs,” a term still applied to old prospectors.

Saving the “Mother Dough” During the 1906 Fire
A major earthquake struck San Francisco and the coast of Northern California
on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. Devastating fires broke out in the city and
lasted for several days. As a result of the quake and fires, about 3,000 people
died and more than eighty percent of San Francisco was destroyed. According
to family history, Louise Boudin, widow of founder Isidore Boudin, saved the
original “mother dough” in a bucket. She is shown on the right with the family.

A New Generation of Immigrant Bakers
Master Baker Fernando Padilla carries on the San Francisco Sourdough French
bread tradition at Boudin Bakery. He took over as head baker after the death
of Papa Steve Giraudo in 1997 at the age of 84. He and his team of bakers
continue the centuries old tradition of hand crafting each loaf, and using a
portion of the original mother dough, dating back more than a hundred years.

The San Francisco Sourdough Tradition Lives On
Boudin Bakery started as a tiny, old world bakery on DuPont St. founded in
1849 by French immigrant Isidore Boudin. It has grown and prospered in the
last century and a half. The company’s new flagship location is a 24,000 sq. ft.
showcase bakery and restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf. It serves what is still
considered the essential San Francisco meal: fresh-cracked crab, dark bake
sourdough bread, and a chilled bottle of California Chardonnay.

Team 26305 assignment 3 presentation

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