Sourfaux: the bread battle that’s got bakers hot under the collar

How sourdough bread is rarely what it claims to be

Food is political. This has always been the case, but recently the way we view food through a political lens has shifted. Andy Burnham talking about “posh coffee”. An Australian millionaire telling millennials to stop buying avocado toast. Politicians deliberately aligning themselves with well known high-street brands, whether that be Byron Burger, Greggs or Nando’s.

It is as if we have moved away from analysing the politics behind the industrial process of food manufacture, and now instead apply political and class associations to ingredients or products en mass. When it comes to sourdough bread, things get a little complicated.

Bread is the oldest recipe in the world. It’s flour, water, salt and a raising agent. Every country, every culture, has its own form of bread — it underpins everything — and indeed, that ancient recipe is closely replicated in what we call sourdough today, the key difference in it being the use of wild yeast that ferments slowly, versus industrial yeast that does it in a couple of hours. However, this ancient recipe now has a much loftier, trendier reputation. Sourdough is artisanal. Sourdough is a lifestyle choice. And crucially, sourdough is four quid a loaf, so no wonder it comes with this built-in middle-class cache.