Oh my heavens. Your words are speaking to my SOUL. Not just because I’ve been super curious about finding some sourdough starter (my curiosity is coming from a place of wanting to connect with my late mom, but I’m totally jiving with your motivations, too!), but also because I’m starting some things over and yes. It feels much more like a continuation than a starting from scratch.
Gosh. Thank you so much for this reflection. I’ll be thinking of it for days to come, I’m sure.
During the pandemic a friend gave me a bit of starter and the very same thing happened...it died. But I am curious and love sourdough bread so watched videos and got a new batch started. It is now, 3 years later, a thriving starter that I often share, but I have almost killed it several times. It, like most things, requires nuturing and patience. BREAD making requires patience and slowing down. Patiently observing the rise of the bread. There are basic rules, but when it is colder outside and in your home, it is a slower process. SLOW is not something our generation is good with. I bake at least twice a month with the starter...and for the most part have stopped buying bread from the store. I love exploring different recipes...but the number of failed attempts is almost comical...still trying to get the "perfect" loaf, while keeping my starter healthy and happy. That steady persistence will when the day...
Ah, sourdough! This is a wonderful exploration of how we learn and grow, Rita, and I love how you've connected it to the various chapters of your life...of our lives. Delicious!!
Years back, someone gave me the starter for "Friendship Bread," which is similar but sweeter. That ended in a messy disaster one day. Years later, I took to making the no-knead bread that calls for yeast, beer and vinegar - giving it a sourdough adjacent taste and longevity.
Just before the pandemic, a friend gave me some of her starter which I kept going for a long time but found I wasn't baking often enough to remind me to be a good caregiver. So, I'm in a starterless stage again and infrequently buying a loaf here and there from those I know who bake it with care.
What I can offer in the way of advice you didn't ask for are these three ideas:
1. Temperature and time are partners in this dance. If your house is cooler (like mine), just give it more time and it should come around. You can always feed it again if you think it needs that.
2. Google recipes for small batch starters and for using refrigerated starter, if you (like me) aren't keen on tossing out so much mix every time. Oh, and tart, older discarded starter makes amazing crackers!
2. Don't overthink it. Let it do its thing. It will. Just like us, if given the space and grace we need. 🧡
Wrapping incandescent tree lights are perfect for adding the right amount of heat. I started mine using dehydrated starter from homestead and chill and had a great deal of success, but I get wanting to start it on your own. (But I also don’t think you need to leave it outside.)
I like your conclusion that we're not starting anew each time, we're continuing. Somehow that takes the pressure off me in a way I've never considered before. As for baking bread we tried all sorts of recipes during the lockdown portion of the pandemic and decided: 1) we can do it; but 2) we won't do it unless forced by circumstances beyond our control.
What an enjoyable read! I've never been brave enough for sourdough which makes me admire your efforts even more. I'm a poor bread maker - passable but not pretty is how I'd describe them. Superb metaphor for tenacity. I hope your sourdough adventure progresses well today!
Okay, in the continuing saga of me trying to comment in Substack, whenever I read a new post I'm now being taken back to commenting here on this older post. I realize this isn't your doing but for the life of me I do not understand why Substack is so difficult to use. I'm hardly a blogging newbie and would consider being here IF they made this platform easily accessible.
Oh my heavens. Your words are speaking to my SOUL. Not just because I’ve been super curious about finding some sourdough starter (my curiosity is coming from a place of wanting to connect with my late mom, but I’m totally jiving with your motivations, too!), but also because I’m starting some things over and yes. It feels much more like a continuation than a starting from scratch.
Gosh. Thank you so much for this reflection. I’ll be thinking of it for days to come, I’m sure.
During the pandemic a friend gave me a bit of starter and the very same thing happened...it died. But I am curious and love sourdough bread so watched videos and got a new batch started. It is now, 3 years later, a thriving starter that I often share, but I have almost killed it several times. It, like most things, requires nuturing and patience. BREAD making requires patience and slowing down. Patiently observing the rise of the bread. There are basic rules, but when it is colder outside and in your home, it is a slower process. SLOW is not something our generation is good with. I bake at least twice a month with the starter...and for the most part have stopped buying bread from the store. I love exploring different recipes...but the number of failed attempts is almost comical...still trying to get the "perfect" loaf, while keeping my starter healthy and happy. That steady persistence will when the day...
Ah, sourdough! This is a wonderful exploration of how we learn and grow, Rita, and I love how you've connected it to the various chapters of your life...of our lives. Delicious!!
Years back, someone gave me the starter for "Friendship Bread," which is similar but sweeter. That ended in a messy disaster one day. Years later, I took to making the no-knead bread that calls for yeast, beer and vinegar - giving it a sourdough adjacent taste and longevity.
Just before the pandemic, a friend gave me some of her starter which I kept going for a long time but found I wasn't baking often enough to remind me to be a good caregiver. So, I'm in a starterless stage again and infrequently buying a loaf here and there from those I know who bake it with care.
What I can offer in the way of advice you didn't ask for are these three ideas:
1. Temperature and time are partners in this dance. If your house is cooler (like mine), just give it more time and it should come around. You can always feed it again if you think it needs that.
2. Google recipes for small batch starters and for using refrigerated starter, if you (like me) aren't keen on tossing out so much mix every time. Oh, and tart, older discarded starter makes amazing crackers!
2. Don't overthink it. Let it do its thing. It will. Just like us, if given the space and grace we need. 🧡
Can't wait to see how this all turns out!
Wrapping incandescent tree lights are perfect for adding the right amount of heat. I started mine using dehydrated starter from homestead and chill and had a great deal of success, but I get wanting to start it on your own. (But I also don’t think you need to leave it outside.)
Excited to hear more about your adventures!
I like your conclusion that we're not starting anew each time, we're continuing. Somehow that takes the pressure off me in a way I've never considered before. As for baking bread we tried all sorts of recipes during the lockdown portion of the pandemic and decided: 1) we can do it; but 2) we won't do it unless forced by circumstances beyond our control.
What an enjoyable read! I've never been brave enough for sourdough which makes me admire your efforts even more. I'm a poor bread maker - passable but not pretty is how I'd describe them. Superb metaphor for tenacity. I hope your sourdough adventure progresses well today!
Okay, in the continuing saga of me trying to comment in Substack, whenever I read a new post I'm now being taken back to commenting here on this older post. I realize this isn't your doing but for the life of me I do not understand why Substack is so difficult to use. I'm hardly a blogging newbie and would consider being here IF they made this platform easily accessible.