Bread

Back in the early days of the COVID pandemic, like so many others I became captivated by the world of sourdough. Eager to learn something new, I became a mother hen to my sourdough baby, all consumed with how to care for it, when to feed it, and how to bake with it. As it turns out it’s rather hard to kill a starter, but at the time I was clueless and worried I’d mess something up. Thankfully King Arthur Flour put together a fantastic guide to help new sourdough parents thru the newborn stage. In the end I came to realize that time and patience were the real star of the show (neither of which I’m very good at) and so I had to learn to slow down a bit and trust the process.

What a proud Sourdough Mama moment, when I pulled this first loaf out of the oven!

Once that first loaf came out I was hooked! Alas, it was a bit of beginners luck as I produced a number of lackluster loaves working through various proportions and recipes, even trying to create my own. As my children spent time with their online remote learning at the dining room table, I taught myself how to bake bread. Always a good cook; baking muffins, cakes, and recipes where exact measurements were needed seemed to elude me.

Armed with a scale gifted by a friend and a recommendation to check out Tartine’s Bread recipe, paired with knowledge gleaned from Jennifer Latham’s Instagram videos, I finally got the hang of making consistently good bread.

I became obsessed with bread scoring patterns I saw on Instagram, and learned how to balance decorative cuts and the ones needed to allow for the bread to expand fully in the cooking process.

Since I was up to my ears in sourdough anyway I found other ways to use the excess starter and discard. Pancakes, tortillas, biscuits, bagels. You name it - and sourdough enviably makes it better.

• Sourdough Pancakes by Spruce Eats

• Sourdough Tortillas by Ashley Marie Farm & Bakery

• Sourdough Biscuits by love & olive oil

• Sourdough Bagels by Little Spoon Farm

• Sourdough Hamburger Buns by King Arthur Baking Company

I became so sourdough inspired, I even thought of changing the name of my company to Gluten Girl.

One of our favorite recipes comes from Maurizio Leo of The Perfect Loaf. Searching for a recipe for make your own sandwich nights I found his simple focaccia recipe and we’ve been hooked ever since. My standard topping includes red onion, rosemary, red pepper flake, and Malden’s Salt, but the options are endless.

These days my sourdough bread making days ebb and flow, and the majority of the time my beloved starter stays in the fridge, but I am a better cook and baker now that I have learned the art of sourdough.