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There is nothing new about sourdough. For thousands of years, 1. commercial yeast became widely available, bakers relied on wild yeasts and bacteria to make their bread rise. What has changed is the status of the loaf. Once the everyday bread of the poor, it is now 2. likely to be found in an upmarket bakery as on a farmhouse table, and at a price that would astonish earlier generations. Part of its appeal lies in the process 3.. A sourdough 'starter', a mixture of flour and water left to ferment, must be fed regularly if it is to stay alive, and devoted bakers talk about theirs much 4. other people talk about their pets. Some starters are claimed to be over a century old, having been passed down from one generation to 5.. Enthusiasts also make claims for the health benefits of the bread, suggesting that the long fermentation makes it easier to digest. There may be something in this, but the research is still 6. its infancy. For 7. part, most home bakers seem less interested in nutrition than in the satisfaction of producing something with their own hands. As one put it, a loaf that has taken three days to make is not something you would ever dream 8. wasting.