Breaking Bread

Sourdough bread making has become an obsession. The bread is both science and art which I find interesting and challenging.

I had to read a lot and watch videos to understand the process. After which, it all clicked once I made the first, second, and third loaves.

To create my starter, I followed Clever Carrot's instructions. Many people name their starter; I named mine Homer after my beloved and dearly departed dog.

Once I read several sourdough recipes, I decided not to follow Clever Carrot's bread recipe. Instead, I went with Claire Saffitz's recipe (link in the resources section).

Learning is helpful with video, especially for cooking and baking. Sometimes the way recipes are written it can be hard for me to visualize. Therefore, I watched Claire Saffitz's video several times to follow along.

Mike Greenfield's video about sourdough mistakes was very helpful.

I won't bore you with the details on how I got on this sourdough journey, but I can summarize with saying that I feel pulled to create something that is meaningful, basic, simple, and sharable.

Combining my wooden board project with bread; I have created "Bread, Butter, and Boards". I have not met anyone that doesn't love bread so sharing the bread is easy. I've started with a couple of close friends to share my bread and boards, with a side of butter. I'll be giving away bread and boards as time and situations permit.

For these two bread and boards I share a half loaf because that is what fits on the board. I have to find a way to create a wider board to share full loaves.

Here are my first loaves.

Here is the crumb of these first loaves.

I'll keep practicing using a mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour for now. Until I get a few more loaves under my belt, literally and figuratively, I won't be trying other types of flour. I've read that the possibilities are endless but I'm not branching out just yet.

Bread and pasta hurt Whiskey's belly, so I don't cook a lot of meals with either. However, the fermentation of the sourdough and letting it ferment / proof for a full day before baking has created a bread that does not wreak havoc on Whiskey gut. This is good news. Not that I want to eat a lot of this bread, and trust me, it's really easy to eat a lot of it when freshly baked, but it is nice to have good bread that won't make you sick.

UPDATE:

Each loaf has gotten better. I think because the weather is warm, and the bread is able to get very airy as it ferments.

I adapted Claire's recipe in way that makes sense to me and for making one loaf at a time (Claire's is for two). I share the PDF of that recipe here.

jf sourdough

.pdf

Download PDF • 369KB

More loaves.

Garlic sourdough bread:

Then there are sourdough pancakes made with discard which are delicious. I had to rewrite a recipe from My Best Sourdough Pancakes | The Perfect Loaf

For me, recipes need to be written in the order of process and ingredient groupings. I often will rewrite recipes that makes sense to me which is usually simplified.

jf sourdough pancakes

.pdf

Download PDF • 414KB

I've been making a loaf a week. It is irresistible. Making bread requires weighing ingredients on a scale; eating bread may require one to weigh themselves as they keep eating all of the bread. 😁

I found a board wide enough to accommodate a whole loaf.

Here is the story behind the boards...click here.

Resources

Health Benefits of Sourdough Bread, according to a Dietitian

Why Is Sourdough Bread Good for You? + How to Make

How to Create a Sourdough Starter - The Weston A. Price Foundation

Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe - The Clever Carrot

NYT Cooking - How to Make Sourdough Bread

The ultimate sourdough starter guide | The Perfect Loaf