Though fermentation might not seem related to baking, it deeply intersects; in sourdough, yogurt, cheese, cultured butter, and even jams and pie fillings. In this episode of Regenerative Baking, Dressler Parsons talks to Dr. Julia Skinner (@yourrootsandbranches)--award-winning author, food historian, PhD, and founder and director of Root Kitchens (@rootkitchens). Her latest book, “Our Fermented Lives: A History of How Fermented Foods Have Shaped Cultures and Communities,” is chock-full of recipes and practical information for getting started fermenting, and where fermentation might fit in to the future of food.
Links:
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “New England Reformers” (1844)
Marc Rumminger’s article on Mrs. Beeton & changes in recipe formatting
USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map and NPR article about the recent update
Mallory O’Donnell (forager, author of How To Cook A Weed)
English translation of The Book of Taliesin, a book of Welsh poems from the early 1300s
Self-sustaining bakery thoughts: “It does make sense that fermentation would play a big role–with sourdough and cheese and yogurt, obviously, but also with fruit preservation like jams and pie fillings. But really, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Fermentation could play a crucial part in helping this bakery turn potential food waste into yet more ingredients for baking–like sowens, for example. And I also can’t help but think about the macro and micro-communities present in baking, just like those present in fermentation– the microbes in the yeast, the community you share the bread with, and the ancestors before you who’ve baked loaves of bread for millennia.”
Instagram: @regenerativebaking and @dresslerparsons