BYTES ACROSS THEBAY

Atalefor Each Ofourninecounties

INVENTEDHERE

In the late 1960s, aSanJosebasedteam of IBM engineers, working under David L.Noble, came up with a flexibleMylar disk coatedwithmagnetic material that could bespun. The first floppies were8inches anduncovered, andthus open to contaminants. The team then put themin sturdyenvelopes, protecting them fromdust, therebygiving us an important piece oftechnologythat,along with typewritersand eighttracks (and, eventually, one hopes, e-cigarettes andselfie sticks) can be counted amongthe victims of the lightning-fast pace of technological innovation.

From a railing justabove Boudin Bakery’sbustling workplace, Fernando Padilla signals for one of his fellow bakers to toss him achunkofdough.

Thesoftball-sizedglobsettles softly into Padilla’shands, and he pulls it apart and holdsit to his nose for a deep inhale.“Ilove that smell,” hesays.

Thisis thespecial stuff, the historicstuff. It’sapiece of the so-called mother dough, thewild yeast starterthathas gone into everyof loaf of sourdough bread bakedbyBoudinsince 1849.Padilla is Boudin’smaster baker,andit’s his jobtomakesure themother dough endures.

“This islike Coit Tower, the cable cars, the GoldenGateBridge,” Padillasays,rolling thedough in his hand.“Boudinsourdough right here at the Fisherman’sWharf is iconic. It’sSan Franciscohistory.If we run out of it, weshut thedoors.”

ToBoudin,thisdough is the greatestinventionsince before slicedbread (whichcame along in 1928).The bakery wasborn in 1849,whenanimmigrantnamed Isidore Boudin,whohailed from a familyof master bakers inBurgundy, France, kneaded a hardydough and formeditintotheshape ofa traditional French loaf.

Evenafter theintroduction of commercialyeast in1868, Boudin Bakerycontinued tomake bread thewaybakershad done for centuries. They setasideaportion of the previousday’sdough toprovidethe naturalyeastfor leavening thenext batch.To this day,there’satraceof theGold Rusherain eachbite.

Boudin’smother dough even survived the greatearthquake of 1906.When the quakestruck at 5:12 a.m.thatApril 18, settingoff firesacross San Francisco, Louise Boudin tossedsomemotherdough into awooden bucketandfled thescene justbeforethebakery