Sourdough bread is the old fashioned way of making bread. It is a natural ferment that actually changes the chemistry within the dough. The phytates and enzyme inhibitors that are present in all grain, seed and pulses will become neutralised within the fermentation process. Complex starches are also predigested into simpler sugars. With this kind of ferment, the bread will be much easier to digest and it will be tastier as well. Making sourdough is a totally natural experience from beginning to end, and with this fact in mind, the variations in taste will reflect your own immediate environment. Just like with cheese making and any other natural ferments; moulds and yeasts that inhabit the food preparation area will all be reflected in the sourdough starter that you make. THE STARTER To make a starter all you need to do is to add equal amounts of water with flour. It’s as simple as that. There are factors however that can influence this process and these are as follows: Freshly ground organic flour will give optimum results. Water should be as pure as possible. Town water will have chemicals such as chlorine that can inhibit the life forces that you are trying to capture. Temperature is an influence but is not important. The warmer the conditions are, the quicker the yeasts will grow and multiply. Cooler temperatures will retard but not stop the process. The mixture should be fluid enough for the yeasts to grow in and thrive. An improvement to this simple mixture would be to add a little whey to introduce some bacteria and enzymes to give it a start. This will help to make a better starter culture. If you are interested in making your own ‘Staff of Life Bread’ for very little cost, then you will do well to invest in a flour grinder. Buying organic wheat in bulk is quite economical and you can then grind any amount of fresh flour for when you are baking your bread. “Earth Garden’ has just published a book on home bread making, ‘The Good Life Bread Book’. I had the privilege of being able to contribute to this publication and you’ll find my article on page 26. So feel free to glean from my experience on sourdough making and hopefully you will join many others on the road to home food production.