Sour Dough Baking and COVID Project

Have you been working on COVID projects at your house? I’ve cleaned out closets and drawers. We’ve purged some unnecessary items from our house. I’ve also tried a lot of new recipes.

One of the new recipes is sour dough bread. I’m a pretty good cook. I like what I cook, but others have complemented me on main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and appetizers. I don’t think of myself in one discipline.

 

 

 

Yes, I really can bake!

I’ve baked bread for years–quick breads, fruit breads, yeast breads, homemade biscuits and rolls. I’ve never been intimidated by the kneading or rising process–until sour dough. I’ve baked what’s called sour dough in one of my cook books, but that recipe begins with dry yeast. I’ve written a few posts about those breads and shared recipes, too. Here’s a post on Sunflower Oatmeal Bread and one on Irish Soda Bread. Finally, if you like Irish Brown Bread better, take a look at this post.

Yes, I can bake all kinds of good bread, but I wanted to bake real sour dough from water, flour, and a  little salt. You know, like the ones we’ve been seeing on social media. My family and I love bread, especially the kinds that come from artisanal bakeries.

For several weeks in the beginning of this pandemic, I tried to bake sour dough. My attempts were sadly lacking. My offerings to my salivating family were gummy and with no rise at all. They promised the bread tasted good, but the gumminess was evident to all of us.

No pictures exist of those stumbling attempts because I was embarrassed and frustrated, but I was determined that sour dough would not defeat me. I watched a few videos several times. I took notes and printed recipes. Here’s a video that was particularly helpful.

Aha!

Finally, I had an epiphany. Sour dough has been around a lot longer than Instagram food pictures, timers, and digital scales. Women on the prairie and in log cabins didn’t weigh flour, they mixed ingredients on the fly from one chore to the next. That realization freed me from worrying about grams and hydration and flour mixes. I started doing by own thing basically. Yes, I measure flour and water by measuring cups, but I just eyeball the amount of starter I use.

Guess what? My new free way worked. I get bubbles and a beautiful “ear” with a crunchy crust instead of a gummy, no-rise mess. Yea!

What COVID projects are you trying?