11-01-2024, 06:30 PM
(10-31-2024, 09:27 PM)FCD Wrote: Wife and I have been working at creating some sourdough from scratch over the past several weeks. At high altitude, this is more difficult than it may seem. I failed a couple times, and my wife (the Chef) had to step in to save my bacon, but she wasn't going to save "My" bacon as much as save her own. So, she started a 2nd starter
Now, I'm already at a disadvantage because her specialization in Culinary school was "Baking", BUT...like me, she'd never done sourdough either. So, I thought we might be on even keel (buzzer...wrong!). I struggled and failed twice. She took one of my failures and made a perfectly good sourdough starter from it (I think she loves the competition!...and my failure!).
However, now my sourdough starter has "risen" to the occasion and is even outshining hers (not that I have any idea how this happened, mind you!). She still rocks at baking bread, far better than I can ever do, but now we are both getting some pretty serious sourdough starters (high altitude ones...which isn't easy). We've probably studies no less than a thousand recipies...and most of them fail. Some say this is "Easy!", but to do it right, it's far from "easy"
At the end of the day, why does anyone want sourdough? Why go to the trouble? Yes, flavor is one thing, but there's actually a more fundamental reason. Sourdough replaces yeast. With sourdough, you don't need regular baking yeast (those little packets, jars or vacuum packs). Yeast is gone, and to make bread...all you need is sourdough, flour and water. If you keep the starter going, then all you need is flour and water for bread.
Tonight we did our first sourdough loaf of bread. Anyone who's ever made bread knows; one of the hardest things of all is to get the "oven spring" (rise) right. There's lot's of technical words, like "spring", and "crumb" and many others, but suffice to say this loaf turned out fantastic. Now, granted, I am spoiled. My wife can bake stuff better than most, but this was different, and even she was both surprised an pleased.
Okay, I know this whole post sounds "woke", and maybe it is, but I'm not "woke" by a country mile (and I think y'all know that), but I do like good bread. Sourdough bread is at the top of my list. Being able to make it successfully is not easy, and I don't give a fuck if it's "woke" or not...it's damn good bread!! I like it, and I'm damn proud of being able to make it decently.
Yes, I'm just rambling. And, yes, I just thought I'd throw this out there. And yes, you can call me some sorta 'gleesturbation' 'sackwacker' yariman, or well...whatever! I'm not! LOL!
Enjoy!
WTF? No recipe?
I love it, but have never made it.
