Project "Fermentum Silesiae"

In Search of Forgotten Yeasts of Lower Silesia

During a research visit to one of the old, 60-plus-year-old artisan bakeries, a team of researchers from the Water Institute obtained samples of a long-standing sourdough starter that has contributed to the unique taste of local baked goods for decades. The interior of the bakery – with its wood-fired ovens, fermentation boxes and centuries-old recipe documentation – revealed signs of long-term fermentation. Fermentation aromas and the memories of former bakers led the researchers to conclude that traditional food establishments could be a valuable source not only of knowledge, but also of living microbial cultures – witnesses to an ancient technological culture. Preliminary observations indicated that strains isolated from this bakery may exhibit unusual fermentation properties that differ from those typical of commercial yeast cultures – both in terms of enzymatic activity and potential diversity of bioactive compounds.

This observation inspired the creation of a biobank project for wild and historical yeast strains that represent the living civilizational heritage of Lower Silesia. Yeasts that once fermented in breweries, bakeries, vinegar works, cheese dairies, and confectioneries – in locally unique ways – can form the basis for modern research and the revival of flavors from bygone eras.

Wild Yeast Biobank – The Civilizational Heritage of Lower Silesia
As part of the „Fermentum Silesiae” project, we are launching a broad campaign to collect samples and isolate yeast strains from historically significant fermentation sites, including:

• old craft and industrial breweries – including inactive ones that may still preserve relics of past fermentative cultures;
• traditional bakeries and confectioneries – operating for generations or with preserved infrastructure;
• historical meaderies, vinegar works, and fruit wine distilleries – where fermentation processes had local and unique character;
• artisan cheese dairies and aging cellars – where microflora could evolve over years into stable and valuable fermentative communities;
• monastery meaderies and fermentation cellars – with preserved documentation or traditions of fermented beverage production;
• food manufacturing plants from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – whose buildings and equipment may still contain traces of old strains;
• cellars and storage rooms with barrels from past fermentations – especially in regions with rich histories of food and drink production.