Sourdough bread, from the starter to the finished product. It wasn’t as difficult as I was expecting it to be.
I love bread. In fact, sayin I love bread is an understatement I think.
Why
During 2020, getting yeast was difficult for many (I had some in freezer, so it wasn’t an issue for me). But what if I didn’t need to worry about the yeast? Sourdough bread is something we enjoy eating, but not something I’ve ever decided to do. I was content to just buy it. But as more and more people put ingredients in foods that I don’t wish to eat, it’s harder to find what I want. And when that happens, your best bet is to just make it yourself.
A couple month ago, we had found fresh ground flour from one of the vendors at the Farm Hippy Farmers Market in Collinsville, Ok. And we loved it. I’d been making bread from it, and it was great. So, I decided, now I have a really good flour, maybe it’s time to try my hand at sourdough bread.
In early December, I decided to try my hand at it. I spent a bit of time doing some research on making a sourdough starter. For some time, I’ve followed Melissa K. Norris, and she loves sourdough. so I checked out her recipe, and decided it sounded easy and was worth a shot.
Making my starter
In a nutshell, it’s 30 grams of flour, and 30 grams of water. Stir it, and let it sit. Later that day, add 30 grams of flour and 30 grams of water, stir and sit.
The next day, take out half of it, and add 30 grams of flour and 30 grams of water, stir….
Rinse and repeat.
At just a couple days, I had bubbles forming. It was exciting.
Early usage
After 5 or 6 days, it was a sourdough starter, but from what she said, not strong enough for a loaf of bread, so, I decided to try my hand at English muffins, and they were great! We’ve also had pancakes with it. It was also great.
So, I continued feeding and discarding the started every day as I was supposed to. I made some English muffins a couple times. Just waiting for that month to roll around so I could finally make a loaf of bread.
When the day arrived, I couldn’t wait to make some!
One HUGE callout. It takes longer to make with sourdough than it does with yeast.
Before, when I wanted bread, I’d go in, and make a loaf and in a couple hours, I had a loaf. (depending on the temperature of the house)
Finally making bread
But with Sourdough, there’s more planning involved (which I’m not good at). Melissa K Norris has a great Sourdough sandwich loaf which I’ve made several time, which I really like. Though it takes longer to make than yeast bread, if I start it in the morning, I’ll have it that evening for dinner. Since I was making a sandwich loaf, I decided to use the smoker instead of the cast iron. Temperature control is a bit hard in it, but not too bad.
I even gave some starter to my mother-in-law, and she’s really loving it as well.
So, give it a try! Either get a starter from a friend, buy one, or make your own. If you love bread, you’ll probably love this.
One last thing. People online lose their mind about sourdough. That you need special tools or special water or special this or special that. Sourdough bread has been around thousands of years. It doesn’t have to be as hard as some people make it out to be.
Don’t forget we’ll be at the Homestead Expo in Talala, OK on April 27. We’d love to see you there.
