Yes, "mummy."
Came across this 2019 article from a link in a recent article on rocketing demand for sourdough starter from 1847 (which follows)
What does bread from 4,500-year-old Egyptian yeast taste like? Rich, with 'overtones of brown sugar'
Video game designer teams up with archaeologist and microbiologist to extract yeast from ancient Egyptian pots
...Seamus Blackley got a chance this week to combine two of his greatest passions — ancient Egypt and baking.
The Pasadena, Calif., video game designer — best known for his role in developing Microsoft's gaming console, the Xbox — has baked a loaf of sourdough bread using 4,500-year-old yeast extracted from ancient Egyptian pottery.
"This was crazy because I had collected this stuff, you know, with syringes and masks and sterile techniques in museum basements from old pots.."
Blackley teamed up with an archeologist and a microbiologist to extract 4,500-year-old yeast from this ancient Egyptian pottery. (@/SeamusBlackley/Twitter)
... he was able to convince the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard's Peabody Museum to lend them some ancient clay pots for their experiment.
"I had to submit all sorts of documentation, detail our methods and show that it's a non-destructive analysis," Love told the New York Times. "Once they could see that we weren't harming the vessels, they gave us permission."
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And for the sourdough lovers/bakers who might want to savor something less ancient, here's the article I originally read:
Sourdough starter group overwhelmed with thousands of orders after viral TikTok
Mary Buckingham has been keeping up with a pioneer tradition of giving out sourdough starter
Bread just like mummy used to make
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