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Image by Artur Rutkowski

Sourdough Bread

Folklore of the Forty-Niners

Sourdough bread is an element of material culture of which variations appear in many cultures and communities. One such community is the prospectors who headed west in search of gold during the California Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. This website will explore the formal elements of sourdough bread, how it made the journey west, and its relation to the gold prospectors who came to be known as the Forty-Niners.    

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