Bavarian "Black Death" Sourdough Starter
Circa 1633
THIS STARTER DISAPPEARED OFF EBAY OVER A YEAR AGO, WE ARE BRINGING IT BACK TO
CONTINUE ITS HISTORY.
WE PERSONALLY CAN NOT VERIFY ITS STORY, BUT IT IS A GOOD STORY AND MAKES A
GREAT SOURDOUGH BREAD!!!
I maintain a repository for rare and historic cultures that are being
preserved for future generations. These historic cultures are now becoming
available to the general public.
I believe this culture to be one of the finest European starters available. It
makes the wonderful bread that has become associated with the southern part of
Germany. And, as one would expect, it comes with quite an interesting and rich
history as well. Oral history indicates that this starter dates back to around
the period of Germany?s Black Death (1633) and originated in or near the town
of Oberammergau. It literally took me years to track down a reliable German
culture from this time period.
I was able to find this strain from a single family who had been handing it
down through many generations.Note: One has to remember that commercial yeast
for bread making wasn?t available until the 1920's. The only way families and
bakeries could bake leavened bread prior to this was by having a reliable
starter. With the advent of commercial yeast, most folks simply tossed out the
starters they had been using for years.
This is the only historic German starter I?ve been able to locate that has
been passed down through one single family for almost 400 years. The bread it
leavens is absolutely fabulous. Having been born and raised in Bavaria (not far
from Oberammergau), I remember this as the bread I ate as a young child in the
1950?s. How fortunate I was in having found it. It is one of my favorite
starters and now I share it with you.
Upon payment, you will be mailed the authentic ?Bavarian Black Death? dried
starter. There are no bulk fillers or commercial yeast