Dough Re Mi – The Effects of Music on Sourdough Starter
By Claire Finnis
Elementary Category (Grades 4-6)
Experiment | Biology, Chemistry, Physics
BCVSF Note: The required ethics forms have been submitted for this project.
In this experiment, the effects of various types of music on sourdough starter was investigated.
Hypothesis: If music is played to sourdough starter it will affect the taste of the bread. Hard rock music will affect the taste the most because it has the lowest frequency.
Bass sound has a low frequency so the vibrations from it would be the most disruptive to the yeast and bacteria metabolism, causing the flavour of the bread to change. The bacteria in the starter makes acetic acid which is sour so if bacteria affects the amount of acetic acid it will be more or less sour. Music could have a different effect on the taste of the bread. There were three independent variables and a control. They were: Classical, Hard Rock and Pop. Silence was used as the Control
The three types of music were played overnight to sourdough starter and measurements of the rising starter were recorded. The bread was then baked and test were performed to see if the music had an effect on the taste, smell, look and feel of the bread.
Based on the evidence gathered, the hypothesis was supported. The music seemed to have affected the taste and the hard rock music bread was clearly the winner. The music also seems to have changed the growth of the starter compared to the control. This may be because the music affected how the yeast and bacteria grew.
