Reading, Writing, and Sourdough

One of my recent goals is to work through Maurizio's recipes in The Perfect Loaf.  Maurizio's recipes are incredibly precise and I find that sometimes the first time through I don't always get the same results he does. But his focaccia was a winner on the first try. Maurizio suggests pushing add-ins like tomatoes and olives deep into the unbaked dough. I topped the dough with basil, oregano, and flaked sea salt. Next time around I would add more tomatoes and olives. But what a meal. There is also great joy for me in inventing breads and last week I needed to deal with some russet potatoes that were not going to last another week. I boiled and mashed them and added them to a sourdough loaf and then bulked up the dough with spelt flour and raw oats.  Making potato breads are tricky because the potatoes contain a surprising amount of moisture hidden inside them. That's why I cannot provide a recipe. I just keep kneading in more flour until it finally matches the water con...

Today, I have a guest writer: my daughter, Leah. Leah is an excellent sourdough baker and like me, since the beginning of Covid, has been sharing starters and advice. Here are Leah Pallant's instructions for "Keeping Your Sourdough Alive." Photos courtesy, John Mangine . Keeping your starter alive. By Leah Pallant Getting Started I encourage you to think about this process like watering a plant - many sources will tell you that you MUST feed your sourdough every X days to avoid tragedy. I have personally gone against just about every recommendation out there, and kept my starters kicking.  So, basically: you are now the proud parent of a lovely sourdough culture. As a colony of primarily lactobacili bacteria and several species of yeast,  your culture needs water, a healthy dose of aeration, and flour every now and again to live a happy and productive life. You can slow down its consumption needs by giving it fridge time (this is where mine spend 98% of ...