Sourdough Bread

Hello again, everybody!

Recently, I got a "hankering" for some really tasty, old-fashioned sourdough bread. The problem is, we have a serious lack of independently-owned bakeries around here--they've been replaced by supermarkets with built-in bakeries. So the true "sourdough" breads have been replaced by ordinary yeast breads, which have been flavored (with stuff like vinegar, citrus juice, or buttermilk) to make them more sour in flavor.

They're not bad...not at all. They're just not the REAL THING.

So I decided to make my own sourdough bread (beginning with a genuine sourdough "starter"), completely from scratch. I used to bake bread, including sourdough, three to five times a week; nowadays, I'm rarely able to devote an entire afternoon to bread baking. But I've decided to do it, just because the results are so delicious.

A few words about sourdough: traditionally, a sourdough starter is produced by accident. It is created intentionally, but the yeast that grows in the starter (and eventually leavens the bread) is sort of random. It's all a matter of airborne spores (yummy!).

Sourdough starter--the genuine stuff, anyway--is a simple combination of flour, water, and dumb luck. Not that it's really all "luck". There are naturally-occuring yeast spores in the air, all around us, all the time. The idea is that they'll find their way to your flour/water mixture (with just a little help from you), and begin to grow and thrive. When they have multiplied sufficiently, you have a "sponge". That's what is used to leaven sourdough bread.

Why not just add some store-bought yeast (the commercial kind, in little packets) to the mixture? Commercially-produced baking yeasts are bred to grow under less-than-ideal conditions (too cool, too warm, too dry, too moist), to make them foolproof for the Home Baker. This is a good thing!

But in addition, commercially-produced yeasts are bred for uniformity. They are not supposed to impart a flavor--sour or otherwise--to your baked goods. They are supposed to leaven the bread, and that's all. The mild, sour flavor you experience when you bite into most store-bought Sourdough Breads is due to an added flavoring agent. The yeast isn't responsible.

This recipe will produce a fine Sourdough Starter, which can be preserved and re-created.

Sourdough Starter

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups water

In a non-metallic bowl (preferably glass), combine the flour and the water. Mix together with a non-metallic implement (a wooden spoon is fine; a silicone whisk is ideal). Cover the bowl with a piece of cloth, and use a large rubber band to stretch the cloth across the opening of the bowl...kind of like a drum. The cloth, traditionally, should be cheesecloth. But any cloth will do, as long as it's clean, and it completely covers the mouth of the bowl. Place the bowl full of mixture in a warm, draft-free place (I keep mine on top of the freezer. Warm, some air circulation, and out-of-the-way).

Now, you wait. It could be about two days, or it could be up to 5 days (after 5 days, the process just isn't happening...chuck it and start over). Stir the mixture daily, and replace the cloth cover each time. After about 5 or 6 days, the mixture should have begun to thicken into a "sponge"...it should smell tart, and be full of tiny bubbles. It should have a beige or yellowish color. At this point, add an additional cup EACH of flour and water, and stir everything together (don't be too concerned about lumps). After 24-48 hours, the sponge will be bubbly. It's ready!

My sponge is ready, as well; tonight, I'm-a-gonna bake!

I'll let you know how things go, and I'll post some bread (and other goodies) recipes in the next few days.

Enjoy!