Gumushane Bread Product Description and Distinctive Features: Gümüşhane Bread is a type of bread made by mixing bread wheat flour with water, fresh bread yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and 15-30% sourdough. The bread dough is baked in stone ovens specific to the region. These stone ovens, constructed entirely from mud and stones, are built by local stone oven masters. The upper dome of the oven is made of stones or tiles arranged with a narrowing diameter. The oven's base is also made of natural stone. Forest products such as pine, spruce, oak, etc., are used as fuel in the stone ovens. Gümüşhane Bread derives its aromatic properties and flavor from this method of baking. Gümüşhane Bread is round in shape and can weigh between 2 kg and 5 kg. It may contain 15-30% sourdough. The pH of the bread varies around 5.5±1.0 depending on the percentage of sourdough in its content. Another distinctive feature of Gümüşhane Bread is its voluminous and heavy nature, which leads to a low-temperature and slow baking process in stone ovens to release internal moisture. Consequently, the crust thickness of the bread is around 5-10 mm on average. The higher crust thickness allows the bread to maintain its internal moisture for an extended period, resulting in a slower staling process compared to regular bread and a longer shelf life without losing its flavor. Due to the use of sourdough and the high acidity level of the bread, it rarely shows signs of mold during its shelf life, which is slower compared to regular bread.The thick crust of the bread enables it to preserve its aromatic and flavorful characteristics for an extended period. When sliced and reheated for consumption or sent to drying ovens to make rusks, the bread's aromatic and flavor characteristics are re-released, maintaining its consumption quality.With high crust thickness, volume, and weight, Gümüşhane Bread has a moisture content of approximately 41±2.0%, protein content of 10-14%, and salt content of 1.2±0.2%. Production Method: The traditional step-by-step fermentation method is used for sourdough production. For this purpose, a portion of the bread dough (typically around 1-2 kg, stored in glass jars, depending on the quantity of bread dough to be kneaded) is left overnight, covered, to ferment on its own for approximately 12 hours. During this fermentation process, yeast and other dominant microorganisms in the dough structure rapidly multiply, forming a dense flora. In the morning, additional bread wheat flour (about 10% of the final dough) and enough water to form the dough are added to this dough, and it is left for fermentation again for about 3-4 hours. The obtained sourdough, constituting approximately 10-15%, is added to the newly prepared bread dough. Bread Dough Production: Bread wheat flour, water (about 58-60% of the flour), 1.5% salt, 2-3% fresh bread yeast, and the obtained sourdough (10-15%) are added to the bread dough. The bread dough is then left for another 3-4 hours for bulk fermentation. Pieces of approximately 4-5 kg are taken from the dough mass and shaped into round dough pieces with the help of water. Baking the Bread: Forest product woods such as pine, spruce, oak, etc., are burned in stone ovens to create embers. The embers are pushed against the oven walls, both heating the walls and making space for the bread dough. The oven door is opened, and using a baker's peel, the dough pieces are placed on the oven floor. The oven door is closed. Due to the high mass of the dough, slow baking (2-4 hours) is applied in stone ovens to allow the bread to release its internal moisture.