Discover your roots - baking workshop

The experience

Bread, a central element in Sardinian culture, has deep roots that extend through centuries, serving as a mainstay of the diet and a symbol of identity and community. At the heart of this tradition is sourdough, also known as sourdough or, in the Sardinian language, “su framentu”. It is a natural yeast that is made through a basic dough consisting of two very simple ingredients, water and flour, in which the fermenting material consists of microorganisms of the genus Saccharomyces, Candida, and Lactobacillus.

The mother yeast workshop is a unique experience that will allow you to discover an extraordinary ingredient with a rich heritage of history and culture. It is an experience that will allow you to connect with your Sardinian roots and learn how to make bread the way your grandmothers did.

Workshop

The workshop lasts about 4 hours and consists of three phases:

Step 1: Introduction to Sardinian mother yeast

In this phase, you will learn the basics of Sardinian sourdough starter, its origins, properties and preparation techniques.

Step 2: Preparation of Sardinian sourdough starter

At this stage, you will prepare your sourdough starter following the traditional Sardinian recipe.

Step 3: Using Sardinian sourdough starter

In this phase, you will learn how to use your Sardinian sourdough starter to make bread, pizza, and other baked goods.

By the end of the workshop, you will have learned how to make traditional Sardinian sourdough starter and use it to make bread and other baked goods.

The Sourdough

Its origins are very ancient. In fact, it is said that the first traces of this mixture date back 5,000 years to the time of Ancient Egypt. Bread was a food already known before this civilization but it was baked on stone, after mixing water and flour, resulting in a kind of crushed and crispy flatbread, what we know today as unleavened bread. The Egyptians, on the other hand, discovered that by letting the dough rest at room temperature for a day before it was baked, the mass increased in volume, acquired an even more pleasant aroma, and was tall and fluffy once baked.

Thus was born fermentation, or leavening, and through it the oldest of yeasts: mother yeast.

In Sardinia, sourdough has been used for centuries and is still used today. It is a fundamental ingredient of Sardinian cuisine and is used to prepare bread, pizza, desserts and other baked goods.

Benefits of sourdough

Sardinian sourdough has numerous benefits over brewer’s yeast, both nutritionally and health-wise.

First, sourdough gives the bread a more intense and complex aroma and flavor. In addition, bread made with Sardinian sourdough starter is more digestible and nutritious due to the presence of organic acids that promote digestion and nutrient absorption.

Finally, Sardinian sourdough also has health benefits, in particular:

• Helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
• Has an anti-inflammatory effect
• Can help improve gut health
• It can help reduce the risk of diabetes