Summer reissue: What is sourdough and why did so many people become obsessed with it during lockdown? This month’s Dietary Requirements podcast cracks open the starter to investigate.

First published September 11, 2020.

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What are we talking about when we talk about sourdough? On one level it’s just flour and water, but on another it’s so much more than that. To help unpack the lockdown sourdough phenomenon, former (and future) Metro editor and friend of the pod Henry Oliver joined regular Dietary Requirements hosts Simon Day, Alice Neville and Sophie Gilmour for this month’s episode.

Henry got into making sourdough in a big way back in level four, and ended up publishing a whole book about it as part of Objectspace’s Ockham Lectures Pocket Edition series. Who better to taste-test Alice’s latest attempt, judge the quality of the crumb and share tips on how to keep your starter alive and kicking? What qualities are we looking for in a good sourdough, and who sells the best loaf in New Zealand?

There’s also a bit of mag chat about the sudden end and recent resurrection of Metro magazine, and some discussion around the huge impact Covid-19 is having on the hospitality industry, and what needs to be done to keep the lights on in the country’s eateries and drinkeries.

Find the Grizzly sourdough recipe Alice mentions here: A groundbreaking solution to the bread shortage: make your own!

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