Loaf in the Time of COVID: The Quest for Sourdough, with Karl de Smedt (AKA the Sourdough Librarian)

Not Another Science Podcast

Sourdough is a form of bread baking that leverages a complex community of yeasts and bacteria to give it flavour and rise. Thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt, the practice has since spread to communities all over the world, each with a unique method of creating and maintaining their starter. Behind each starter is a human story: dangerous journeys, mass migrations, traditions and cultures. The Sourdough Librarian, Karl de Smedt, runs the Sourdough Library in Belgium, where they maintain and study the most interesting starters from around the globe. In the Quest for Sourdough he tells these stories, one starter at a time, because the future of bread lies in its past.

You can find Karl on Instagram @the_sourdough_librarian and on Twitter @karldesmedt. Head to sourdoughlibrary.puratos.com to learn about the history of sourdough and to take a virtual tour of the library. Check out the Quest for Sourdough video series at tinyurl.com/TheQuestforSourdough, and head to questforsourdough.com to share your sourdough story.

Not Another Science Podcast is co-created by Helena Cornu (@helenacornu) and Tom Edwick (@edwicktom), brought to you by Edinburgh University Science Magazine (EUSci). Our podcast manager is Alix Bailie. The logo was designed by Apple Chew (@_applechew), and the cover art was designed by Heather Jones (@heatherfrancs).

You can visit our website at www.eusci.org.uk to check out the latest issue of the magazine, a ton of other cool science content by our student journalists, and to see how to get involved. You can also follow EUSci on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All podcast episodes and transcripts can be found at www.eusci.org.uk/podcasts/.

Music by Kevin Macleod:
https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama;
https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3787-funk-game-loop
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/