You can connect with nature in many ways: at Artis, in the mountains or in the forest. You can also learn how to maintain a “wild” sourdough culture and in doing so give the centuries-old tradition of bread making a place in your everyday life.

Artis Micropia organized a course about the surprisingly beneficial role that invisible bacteria and yeasts play in our lives. It took place in the Artis Planetarium—an inspiring location to learn about the invisible. From distant galaxies to microscopic ecosystems that people have been using for centuries to make sourdough bread.

Our team members Esther van der Meiden, Janine Kers, Iza Muller, and Noor Schrofer put together an evening program for Artis Micropia about microbes and sourdough bread. As part of a lecture series on Culinary Science, earlier this month our team had discussed the connection between the craft of bread making and science with the Soft Matter group of the University of Amsterdam. Now we were able to extend this line of thought to nature. After all, nature, craft, and science are inextricably linked—something our sourdough bakers experience every day in our educational bakery in Amsterdam East.

Participants in this sourdough course at Artis learned about the ingredients and conditions needed to maintain a sourdough culture, and about the effects this culture has on the fermentation process of bread. They were able to see, taste, smell, and sometimes even feel different stages of the fermentation process.

When is a sourdough ripe? Which acids are produced? What are acids, actually? Is sourdough always acidic, and if so, is the term “sour-dough” really a pleonasm? Which microorganisms are active in the sourdough culture, and which flavors develop during fermentation? At various workstations, participants could learn more about the natural fermentation process of bread. At the end of the evening, everyone went home with a DIY bread-mix kit and a fresh sourdough starter.

A wonderful and educational evening. Many thanks to Noa Hudepol and Artis Micropia for this collaboration.