My Sourdough Journey
I was late to the bread baking game, somehow the trend passed me by during the pandemic but man it is now my full personality.
I started my journey quite randomly, as is the norm for my side quests. I was reading a NYT food article about the perfect focaccia sandwich and thought to myself, man that looks delicious, how can I make that? And so began my long road to sourdough.
So why sourdough and not focaccia?
Well I was able to make the focaccia that day super easy and tasted delicious, I needed something with more of a challenge. Sourdough has always been my go-to bread when I’m at a bakery or restaurant. Or a baguette, but that’s for another day. The tangy taste is so unique and just pairs perfectly with soups, sandwiches, cheese, you name it.
But why didn’t I start with sourdough?
Well, sourdough is not for the weak of heart. I didn’t have a starter and didn’t have the time to figure out how to make a starter so after the focaccia, I started (no pun intended) with a classic table bread. And let me tell you this table bread is everything I want from a bread, easy to make, fresh and flavorful. But I wanted to try something a bit more taxing. Oh and taxing this was. A day and a half journey to make my first sourdough loaf.
I got my starter from my mother who at some point over the last few years made for herself. I actually tried to start this journey a few months ago, but was not ready or prepared so let the starter go, unfortunately. This time I was committed. Literally new year, new me. It was also a perfect storm of winter weather, a new dutch oven and time.
The journey began with me doing more research than I have ever done to bake something.
I had to learn how to feed a starter, how to maintain a starter, what tools to use, the list goes on. What I did not do, was look to see how long it would take to bake the bread. I actually don’t know if that was a mistake or not. I think if I knew the full time it would take to finish I would never have started. I knew the starter would take time to grow, but didn’t realize you had to let the dough sit for just as long.
As I said, I did my research on the starter. I got a proper vessel to store the starter in and set forth to feed it. I let it sit overnight to ferment and woke up the next morning hoping to see some growth…. no change. I had to start again. Then I realized it needs to be pretty warm for the starter to grow, at least 75 degrees. My apartment is quite chilly so I cranked the heat and put the starter in the warmest spot covered in blankets. I don’t even get that kind of treatment… and it’s my apartment! The warmth worked and it started to grow. It took about 6 hours for it to double in size. Once I felt it was at peak activation I set out to make the dough.
It was a fairly simple recipe, flour, water, salt, starter. Mix it all together and let it sit. Then I did these folds which I think just massage the dough. You are supposed to do 4 rounds of the folds with 30 minutes in between. Then you let it sit to double in size. I only had a few hours to spare at this point so I think I let it sit for 2 hours. Finally, you let it sit overnight in the fridge for about 12 hours. Once the dough was ready, I pre-heated the Dutch oven for 30 minutes then set the dough in the Dutch oven and baked for about 40 minutes. Once out of the oven it sat for about 1 hour to cool. And then FINALLY I got to eat it.
For my first time, I’d say it was a hit!
It was a bit chewy but I think with practice I’ll be able to perfect it. I don’t know if I’ll make this into a recurring series, or if I just want this to be a one off. I just knew I needed to document this crazy experience. So excited to see where this journey takes me!
