One of my creative journeys
- James Barnard
- Apr 25, 2020
- 2 min read
I’d like to take you on a journey that I’ve been in for a while now. It has it's highs and it's lows, it's called the world of Sourdough bread. Sarah started this journey about 4 years ago in Australia and somewhere along the way it became my journey, not hers.
The basis of good sourdough bread is a good starter which is flour and water plus time. The other week I was talking with a family member and they asked me if had named my starter. To be honest I never thought of that, I know it's a living thing... but a name? Plus I have killed a few starters and naming them would be a hard loss.
Since moving to Romania and finding a flat to live in, the main issue I had with making sourdough is the poor flour and the oven (inconsistent heat). But as every one who ever made anything will know, try, try, try again and you should at least get close to what you want.
As can see from photos, my early sourdough was not great. I thought, wow they look good but after many youtube videos and a few starters later I realised I was nowhere near where I wanted it to be.
First attempt, I think I cried - Later attempt I'm kind of getting this - I was very happy with this
I tried using a Dutch oven but have found that due to our oven and it's inconsistent temp, it would burn my bread. So I now use the method of putting a tray of water under the loaf which is much better. But the main key to make sure your bread is good, is to make sure your starter is bubbling and make the bread at the peak of the rising starter.
I now feel like I can make bread after three years. Guess I’m a slow riser!
These were my last two loaves.
I have to say going to bed with bread proofing in the fridge overnight and ready to bake in the morning is a good feeling. I know I'm going to be up early as my 2 year old daughter Emma wakes up at around 6am. So when it's bread cooking day, we have fresh bread for breakfast by 7am. The smell of fresh baked sourdough in the morning make the process all worth while.
If you're thinking about jumping into the journey of making sourdough. Here are two websites I have found very helpful.
Comments