More on our series: What is fermentation?

Next up, Rich and Dawn of Fermented Adventure Podcast. The start of their podcast began as a result of their initial courtship of adventurous dates. One of their first was a quixotic meandering into the ‘catskills’ of Manayunk in search of an ephemeral gin. “Do you like gin?” They asked each other belatedly, “No!” but they continued on, driven by curiosity. Stumbling upon Walter Palmer's humble tasting room they both sipped surprised at the simplicity and elegance of a gin crafted with only six botanicals. “Delicious, what else is out there?” they thought. Interrupting their reminiscence they shared a pro-tip with the audience, “Try, even if you think you don’t like a particular drink, a particular food, when you taste from real farmers and producers our tasting experience can be tremendously different than our perceived prejudices.” They came across Manoff cider from a foray at CiderCon, basically, a conference of cider geeks in the industry that come together to bottle share, wax poetic, taste and commune. “There is a real community around cider from the growers, to the producers, at-home enthusiasts, to the customers who can often be counted as friends.” This small circle of farm to table can draw big connections regionally. Although Rich and Dawn are self-ascribed cider lovers, the new evolution of their podcast focuses on health. Their focus is on education and awareness that by eating fermented foods we can increase our healthy gut biome and perhaps, become healthier in the process. This sensibility presents itself in most food cultures around the world, think kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, soy sauce, hot sauce, pickles, yogurt, kefir…and so many more, this technique of harnessing the beneficial bacteria that inhabit our foods creates something more digestible, delicious, preserves nutrients for lean months and leads to better health. You can learn more by following their podcast on social media @fermentedadventure

Last but not least, Buffy Hastings the baker literati on a mission to reinvigorate real American bread. The distinction between real bread and quick or leavened bread drastically differs. Real bread is fermented. Bakers yeast is usually one commercial strain of yeast, whereas a sourdough starter is multiple naturally occurring strains working in symbiosis. Allowing the yeast the time to eat the sugars or starch in the wheat is the process of fermentation often called proving the dough and the resulting lift and internal structure of the bread comes from this process. Fermentation creates flavor, shelf life, and increases your bodys ability to digest the grains used. Wheat should not be eaten raw or quickly, it seems. “It’s a dance,” he repeats often and with conviction, “a dance with the weather, a dance with the fire.” Bread making at its most elemental is time and temperature. His wood-fired oven with stone kiln and surrounding self-masoned walls are a stone’s throw from Manoff cidery. He outlined his process, Step 1) Pre-ferment, portion each dough in the morning, Step 2) Split wood and fire up the oven, Sept 3) Bulk fermentation, the step after mixing in the salt and any more yeast, this is where you see the excitement of bubbles from proofing, Step 4) Bake, this step kills the yeast, but they have already contributed flavor, color, lift, structure, and increased nutrient absorption. Not celiacs, but, if you’re gluten sensitive try real bread that has been fermented a proper amount of time; the number of people who see a difference is staggering. Additionally, “real bread ages gracefully,” he said, sharing some of his go-to recipes for “stale” bread. This dry texture is superb for super simple farm french toast. Take real bread a couple days old, smear it with Manoff’s apple butter, dip in your egg mix and fry it off. Delicious. The same can be said for grilled cheese or for French onion soup. This mentality of utilizing all the stages of real bread also takes place in his utilization of different heat stages of his wood-fired oven. With the rise and fall of heat he crafts croissants, ciabatta (also fermented), sourdough, and sometimes pizza (also fermented). He’s not cutting corners in his own words, “Why make something poorly? If you’re going to do it, do it well.” There is a glimmer of magic when another cider club member in the audience asks, “Is there a story behind your sourdough starter?” His response, “It’s nine years old from Glenn wheat, a strain bred in 1948 out of the university of North Dakota, that I grew and milled myself.” But of course, sometimes the magic is tradition and deciding how much to deviate without compromising integrity is a life lesson for us all. Not to fear, if you prefer to buy your bread, Manoff’s stocks his freshly baked bread selections Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday year-round. Or, place an order with him directly @freedomcreekbread and pick it up at Manoff’s. Although we can’t claim there are health benefits to drinking Manoff cider we can certainly guarantee fermentation in all of its splendid diversity enables delicious food and drink, a benefit for us all.