Sourdough!

Growing up in California I developed a taste for the wonder that is sourdough bread, my favorites being the ones from San Francisco and San Luis Obispo. There's nothing better than a chunk of sourdough bread and pepperjack cheese or a sandwich made with the fragrant and tasty bread.

Sourdough bread is one of the "foods" I miss most living here in the Balkans. Last year while I was in Wyoming I found an "Oregon trail" comic cookbook that had a simple starter recipe for sourdough. Upon my return to the Balkans I eagerly set about preparing the starter... but then it got this funky, smelly liquid on top and I thought I'd ruined it. So I threw it all away and started over. This time there was no funky liquid, but then the dough never rose either... I mean, I waited a whole two hours. So I threw that one away too.

I must interject an important factoid at this point: I have NEVER made bread on my own before. I've tried, but always failed. So my dreams of sourdough, while a simple thing to some, was overly ambitious for me. And the above experiences seemed to prove it.

But then a few weeks back after a mildly successful try at a simple bagel recipe (the dough actually rose!!) I decided to try my hand again at my favorite of the breads: sourdough. Instead of using the old west cookbook I decided to "Google" (don't you just love how that's a verb now??) "sourdough starter" on the internet. And this is the site I found: Sourdough Baking by S. John Ross.

He made it sound so easy, growing a "pet" of sourdough starter, so I gained a little confidence. A cup of flour and a cup of water and daily "feeding" for a week resulted in a starter that was bubbly and smelled pretty good. So into the fridge it went and now just weekly "feedings." Then on Saturday I decided that it was time. So I dumped the starter in a bowl and prepared the "sponge" for "proofing." And then I went to bed.

In the morning there were no bubbles and no "froth." Did I ruin it?? "I have such bad luck with breads," I muttered in disappointment and decided to "feed" it just once more before heading to church. Five hours later I arrived home to find my sponge was smelly and frothy like it was supposed to be! Yeah me! So in went the flour and other ingredients and then the kneading... and kneading... and kneading... And then back into the bowl to rise. It took about 6 HOURS to double in bulk, but after beating it down and forming mini loaves they rose a second time in just an hour.

I couldn't believe it! Could I be "this" close to having actual sourdough bread?? Well, after 45 minutes in the oven I got to savor warm bread with melted butter... and it was wonderful! It wasn't perfect and the loaf looks a little odd, but I think it's cute and I'm so proud. ;)

And I can't wait to try making it again... and again... and again... =)