Sourdough

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Fun Fact: Sourdough or leavened bread dates back as early as ancient Egypt, most likely as a result of some wild yeast happening to set up shop in dough that had been left out. Also, because grains mills had yet to be invented, the course flour (which included husk and sand bits), resulted in ancient Egyptians developing dental problems over time unfortunately.

There’s a plethora of information on sourdough starter care and leavened bread out there thanks to many great artisanal bakers who have revolutionized the sourdough movement. As such, this post will be for me to share how I got started on this weekly slash bi-weekly (depending on my laziness level) bread making schedule and, advice on how to make it suit your needs / lifestyle.

I first decided to start making my own Sourdough culture not because of the health benefits of leavened bread, like its low glycemic index etc. I just love carbs in general and have enjoyed bread since childhood. And I didn’t want to fork out a minimum of $5 for a loaf every time I craved some of it (i.e. every other week or at times more frequently). Also, I secretly relished the challenge of getting the hang of making it myself, after having watched an episode of Chef’s Table with Nancy Silverton and the way she magically created beautiful, crusty loaves of sourdough bread by hand. So here’s how my journey went:

Procuring Sourdough Starter:

I found mine on http://carlsfriends.net/ which is non-profit and only requires you to pay for postage so that the dehydrated starter can reach you (sealed safely in a small ziplock pouch). Instructions are available on how to re-invigorate your starter and it was pretty smooth-sailing from my experience.

Alternatively, the easiest way to get some starter is to find a reliable (and hopefully sanitary) friend or local bakery to share some with you. I recently shared some of mine with a colleague who chose to name his new starter baby after the current Canadian Prime Minister, “Truu-Dough”.

Some ppl also cultivate their own starter at home but I was a little skeptical about the microbes circulating around my rental apartment.

Maintaining Starter (Fridge method):

Since I bake only once a / every other week, I refresh my starter (named Rye-jin after Raijin 雷神, the Japanese god of thunder & lightning) once a week, using minimal amounts of refreshing ingredients as I hate throwing out starter discard or having to find ways to use it up. My refreshing schedule is as follows and starts on Day 1 (Usually Thursday):

  1. Remove Starter from fridge after 5pm (when I get back from work) to warm up to room temperature.
  2. Make levain according to trusted recipe & with remaining starter, refresh culture by placing 1tbsp (15g) of old starter in a clean jar (I usually reuse pasta sauce Mason jars after cleaning them thoroughly)
  3. Add 25g Unbleached AP Flour + 25g rye flour + 40g room temp. water
  4. Stir till well-combined; should be a thick paste (see picture below)
  5. Cover with lid and leave at room temp for 1-2 hours
  6. Place jar in refrigerator (mine’s usually set at 4-6 deg.C)
My trusty starter named Rye-jin

The best part of baking at home is that you can figure out a method / routine that works for you. So go get your hands on some starter, do some research and start making some sourdough!

Initially experimented with 50% whole wheat (left) and 50% rye (right) but found that rye does help produce a livelier starter.
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Pilot

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Yesterday I watched this youtube video on how an artisan salt water taffy maker in Brooklyn found her calling after working in film production for slightly over a decade before becoming an entrepreneur; She chose candy making as it was something that she was doing as a hobby in Grade 6, which is something that I really connected with.

It’s sad because as children, when people ask what we want to do once we grow up, we usually say the first thing that comes to mind, like a candy-man (or woman),  astronaut, tennis pro etc. Often times, these ideas get swept aside as we grow up given that society does not view these roles as realistic dreams or “real jobs” with steady and (hopefully) handsome paycheques; Somehow working at a desk, generating reports that get filed somewhere counts as “proper careers”.

Watching videos of ppl who have succeeded in their field of choice, the age-old saying of “Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life” seems to often comes up. At the same time, ppl who don’t love their jobs tend to say, “maybe I just haven’t found what I’m passionate about” or feel bogged down by familial/consumerist needs to settle for a well-paying job despite not actually enjoying the work they do.

When Jun (my Korean-Canadian bf and apartment-mate) recently asked me, “Is there anything in this world that you would do for free?” (and no, watching anime or trying new foods does not count), my immediate response was obviously (1) baking, followed by, (2) gardening since I can spend hours puttering around my house plants, (3) cat-sitting because I am a crazy cat lady at heart, and (4) writing, which is something I was already doing on and off when the mood happens to strike.

I recall in primary school, my most favourite period was English composition writing during which we would be given an hour or so to write a mini essay (usually based off a scenario or theme). I find that reflecting back on the past really helps you figure out who you are as a person. It’s almost as if your younger self had been pointing you in the right direction all along but somehow you might have been pushed off course by all the extraneous noise.

And so, I decided to stop putting off creating this blog (was previously writing on a Google docs file), do some quick googling and set this baby up.