A Taste of the Neighborhood, The Sourdough Project

This project is based in San Francisco, the home of a strain of yeast called Torulopsis holmii and its necessary bacterial counterpart, Lactobacillus Sanfrancisco sp. nov.. By adding water, flour, and salt together, a natural starter will form from the yeast in the air and the bacteria in the flour (the bacteria creates an acidic -sour- environment in which the yeast flourishes).

Bread flavor is affected by the weather, the handler of the dough, type of and origin of flour, water quality, oven, bricks or building materials of the kitchen, and location. Using the ingredients found in each apartment, starters were started and bread was made during a week long process. After the bread was baked the resulting loaves were shared in the apartment lobby giving residents a chance to taste the distinctive flavors inherent to each apartment and baker.