Meet Alfonsina
The sourdough starter with which Lance started Motherdough began its life in the spring of 1919. Known as Alfonsina, she turned 104 this past autumn.
Alfonsina is a world traveller who has regularly flown with Lance between Italy, South Africa and India. She will soon debut in the academic world, as she is currently being studied by a food science student as part of a master’s degree thesis.
Lance says her impressive life story has had many ups and downs:
“In the nineties, many small panifici [bread bakeries] in Italy had to close their doors because increasing numbers of people began to buy their bread from supermarkets. I knew someone with a bakery in their family who had this sourdough starter that had been started by his greatgrandfather. He kept her alive by giving pieces of her to different people, and that’s how she came into my life. Initially she wasn’t part of our family, but now she is.
“When I came to South Africa shortly before the pandemic with the idea of staying for just a few months, I brought this sourdough starter with me. Then came Covid-19 and I noticed how everyone tried to bake sourdough bread – with varying degrees of success. I decided I could share Alfonsina with people and see whether anyone was interested. The timing was perfect, of course, but I also wanted to build a brand name around this piece of sourdough, which is the embodiment of caring and connection.”
In June, Motherdough will celebrate its third birthday – and Alfonsina is going from strength to strength. >