Panera Bread Sourdough Story: the rise of break | baker's lore become a bread conneisseur | bread pairings | recipes
Sourdough Story •  Although the history of sourdough can be traced back thousands of years before Christ, the word "sourdough" was first made legend during the colorful days of the California Gold Rush. The famous forty-niners would tote their container of sourdough starter from claim site to claim site. At night, without fail, the miner would protect his sourdough from frigid temperatures by curling up with it in his bedroll. •  Pioneer bakers of the California Gold Rush gave rise to the popularity of sourdough bread; a small group of San Francisco Bay area sourdough bakers have kept the rich tradition of sourdough bread alive.
Our Sourdough Starter •  Panera Bread’s sourdough starter, which we affectionately refer to as "Mother", was purchased in San Francisco. The starter, or "Mother", was created in October of 1972. •  The "Mother" is actually a large piece of dough that is kept at each Fresh Dough Facility. Each night the "Mother" is brought out and mixed with water and flour to create a sponge. The sponge is allowed to sit at room temperature for 5 hours. After 5 hours, the sponge will have grown in size and half will be cut off and used. The remaining half then becomes the "Mother" and is put back into the cooler for the following day. •  Our sourdough is what we like to refer to as our "signature" product. At Panera Bread, we know sourdough. It is used as the base for our entire line of bagels. Our sourdough recipe was judged BEST for FIVE consecutive years at the San Francisco Fair & Exposition.