A bread recipe, consisting of just three ingredients, has been passed down through generations and still maintains its original form. Dating back thousands of years, the recipe hails from a time when our ancestors were making flatbreads and today, it continues to be a staple diet for many around the world. While the bread we eat today is filled with preservatives and a far cry from its true form, there are those like Chef Nagraj Bhat who believe in keeping it simple and reverting to the olden ways.

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"People in Europe considered yeast as a gift from God," he begins. "In local bakeries, they fermented the entire dough and sold it to the head of each household – generally a woman – who cooked for the family by baking bread. Later, a scarcity of yeast led to the discovery of using natural bacteria to ferment the dough, which is still used," Bhat says.

He goes on to elaborate on the process of making sourdough bread, which boasts of a unique texture and a slightly sour taste. Although its recipe today has been reinvented to include an artificial leavener – an ingredient that Chef Bhat will have none of.

The seven-day process starts off with only flour and water. "You allow the mix to ferment at room temperature and with Mumbai's humidity, this natural agent works well," Bhat says. Everyday, fresh water and flour are added to the mix, which is then used as a basic culture instead of the popular baker's yeast. A part of the culture or 'starter' is used to make sourdough by adding more flour, made from whole wheat grain, and water to it. Sometimes, salt is added to balance out the sourness.

The reason for reverting to the purist ways of making sourdough is for the ongoing 'Bread Programme' at Mumbai's London Taxi, where Chef Bhat is busy at work. "Indians prefer a lot of starch with their sambar and dal, but elsewhere, bread is the food for the working class and not considered fit to be served to aristocrats. It is something a farmer would have."

And so, in order to make a hero out of this rather humble, sidelined dish, the Bread Programme, which began in July, will have different loaves served every month, year round. Sourdough is on the menu for the month of September.

"The main reason to choose sourdough over other options is for its added health advantage," says Ekta Manning, a self-taught chef who writes the Choux Pastry Love blog. While sourdough, like all other loaves of bread, is a carbohydrate, it can be kept over a long period of time and consumed in intervals so as to limit its intake. "The more you keep it outside at room temperature the more flavourful it becomes. And can last for upto two to three weeks," she states.

Although made from essentially three ingredients, its taste differs on the basis of temperature, freshness of flour, soil and pH level of the water. Variations of this recipe may also be on account of the type of grain used. Yet it's the rustic look of the loaf that lends to an artisanal bread, Manning concludes.