Sourdough Bread in KL: A Brief History

There’s nothing quite like the delectable waft of freshly baked sourdough bread in KL.

What’s even more alluring is the pairing of brie cheese with this hot-from-the-oven bread (drools). The question beckons — how and where did this sought-after bread derive from?

A Brief History of Sourdough Bread in KL: Origin Countries

Sourdough bread is the oldest form of leavened bread and dates back to ancient Egypt. Like many great inventions, sourdough bread was probably discovered through an accident. People left out dough which naturally mixed with wild yeast spores. This interaction caused dough to rise twice or thrice its usual size.

After much experimentation and figuring out the best tasting sourdough bread, the Egyptians discovered that they could keep this culture alive. They do this by taking a little amount of raw dough and adding more flour to it, which would produce the same flavour. Et voila, they discovered what we know today as a sourdough starter.

From Egypt, bread-making also spread north to ancient Greece, where it was considered a luxury. It was first crafted at home by women and later made its way into bakeries.

The Greeks prided themselves for having over 70 different types of bread. This includes savoury and sweetened loaves as well a plethora of grains. The art of making sourdough bread was then passed on to the Romans who made improvements in kneading and baking. And eventually the rest of Europe followed suit.

Sourdough bread in Germany was universally made until yeast brewing came into the scene. The overlap between brewing and baking was reflected in the fact that monasteries were producing both bread and beer. They used oven heat to dry malted grain and the yeast to raise the bread.

France, during the 17th, fed their sourdough starters to make it rise three times before adding it to the dough. Evidently, their interest lay in good tasting bread over an easy life for their baker.

During the California glory days, well-known bakers from France, the Boudin family, travelled from France to San Francisco. There, they discovered that their sourdough culture was immensely unique to the city. Henceforth, they became very famous for their bread with this special flavour.

Since 1849, the Boudin family has been using the same sourdough bread culture. They dub this the “Mother Dough”. And have used the same recipe of flour, water, a pinch of salt and some of this “Mother Dough.”

A Brief History of Sourdough Bread in KL: Arrival of Commercial Yeast

When commercial yeasts were introduced in the 19th century, they had speed and consistency of production in mind. This became a detriment to the authentic process of creating sourdough bread.

However, bread making in Germany, specifically sourdough bread, continued to thrive. Its use remained for rye breads, even as bakers’ yeasts became more popular for all other types.

By 1910, governmental bills prevented night work and restricted hours worked, making more labour intensive production less sustainable. In response to that, bakers slanted towards less laborious breads, such as the baguette. (The Sourdough School)

A Brief History of Sourdough Bread in KL: The Sourdough Second Wave

Slowly phased out, its demand began again in the 1980s in the UK. Regulations were issued outlining what could be sold as sourdough bread.

Luckily for us, sourdough bread in KL today is well celebrated and received, ensuring its place in contemporary culture.

Sourdough Bread in KL

So if you’d like to try out authentic sourdough in KL, you can order them delivered fresh, straight to your doorstep.

With just a combination of 4 ingredients (water, flour, sourdough starter and salt), coupled with time and skill, sourdough bread is created.

The Kefir King’s sourdough has a tough crust and a soft and bouncy crumb, and of course accompanied by bread’s irresistible aroma.

Loaves are made to order, baked the night before, to ensure freshness.

All Kefir King’s loaves are naturally flavoured by their sourdough starter, with zero additives and preservatives, basically the way bread is supposed to be made! 😀

They try to keep things as natural as possible. And hope that Malaysians will start to move from processed loaves to healthier sourdough options. 

And if you’d like to know more about them, here’s a video on the ‘history’ of The Kefir King’s sourdough bread. How they started with creating the Malaysian sourdough bread.

We hope you found it helpful, if so, drop us a comment below! We’d love to hear from you 😀 If you’d like to get regular updates when we post up new articles and videos, you can subscribe here to get notifications.