It’s a library for mothers.
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This library has to have temperature controlled storage so the starters stay fresh. (AP) -
The library started with 43 starters, but now it has at least 125. (Puratos) -
This library is temperature controlled to make sure the starters stay fresh. (Puratos) -
Mr. De Smedt holds petri dishes that have bacteria from different sourdough starters. (Puratos) -
The bacteria in the starter creates the bubbles in this finished sourdough loaf. (Puratos)
This library stores sourdough [SOW-er-doh] bread starters. Each is called a “mother.” Starter makes bread rise. No two are alike.
Karl De Smet tends this library. A baker might spoil his own supply. He can get a glob from his “mother” at the library.
READ MORE: This library is in St. Vith, Belgium. It holds 125 sourdough starters. All are kept in a refrigerator. Yeast is bacteria (teeny living things made by God). Yeast helps bread rise. Long-ago bakers began with a mixture of flour and water. That mixture captured wild yeast from the air—and from the bakers’ hands. The starter got passed down from mother to child. Yeast leavens (makes to rise) bread. Matthew 13:33 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it all was leavened.”
