Scientists Bake Sourdough Bread Using 5,300-Year-Old Yeast from Mummy

Scientists have baked sourdough bread using ancient yeast harvested from a 5,300-year-old mummy’s insides and skin, according to Eurac Research. The Italian-based research center reported on Wednesday that its scientists discovered several strains of cold-resistant yeast from the Copper Age mummy nicknamed Otzi the Iceman, which was found in the Italian Alps in 1991. Scientists examined microorganisms found on Otzi’s skin, in his digestive tract, and in meltwater from inside the mummy. “We’ve already conducted initial, though not yet systematic, experiments − with good results. We tried to make a sourdough starter with it,” microbiologist Mohamed Sarhan said. “We made some really good dough with it.” After around two weeks of being fed flour, the yeast strain adapted to a dough environment, he said. As Otzi was preserved at around -6 C (21.2 F), “these yeasts are remarkable because they are adapted to very cold temperatures,” he added. The newly discovered strains could offer advantages for the modern food industry, allowing fermentation at refrigerator temperatures and during transportation, saving energy, Sarhan said. Bread is currently one of the obvious applications we’re considering; another is beer – we’ve already discussed this with experts. The study found that the mummy’s microbiome contains several layers of microbial life, including traces from his lifetime, organisms that colonized the body after death in the glacier, and modern microbes introduced during decades of handling and preservation. Genetic analyses suggested that the cold-loving yeast strains originate from the glacial environment Otzi was preserved in, and remained associated with the mummy for millennia. In an even older resurrection of ancient organisms, in 2023, scientists in Russia revived a female roundworm that had lain dormant in Siberia’s permafrost for 46,000 years.