I've dabbled with bread making a number of different times over the years, from making my own sourdough with wild yeasts, to regular yeasted breads, to even using a breadmaker. I've had varying degrees of success, but never really felt I mastered it - especially with sourdough, which was never quite the texture I wanted. But this summer, I've revisited the crusty goodness of homemade sourdough to a greater extent than I have in years.
It all started several months ago when I visited a good friend whom I hadn't seen in a while, and she served me hot, fresh sourdough bread right out of the oven. It was a revelation - warm, soft, and chewy, with the perfect crust! I ate so many slices I barely had room for the rest of the meal!
I raved about it so much that, at the end of the visit, she poured some of her sourdough starter into a jar and sent it home with me. I made my own loaf a couple of days later, and while it was good, it couldn't match hers.
I reached out to her for ideas and also revisited my old sourdough recipe that I had made years ago. By combining these tips, I began to gradually improve my results with each batch. In doing so, I have learned a lot, and have enjoyed lots of fresh bread throughout the summer!
I've also experimented with using up excess starter, though my favorite way to use it is these amazing and super easy pancakes! (Even my husband loves them, and he's not usually a pancake fan.)
Below is my working recipe, as well as some lessons I have learned along the way:
It all started several months ago when I visited a good friend whom I hadn't seen in a while, and she served me hot, fresh sourdough bread right out of the oven. It was a revelation - warm, soft, and chewy, with the perfect crust! I ate so many slices I barely had room for the rest of the meal!
I raved about it so much that, at the end of the visit, she poured some of her sourdough starter into a jar and sent it home with me. I made my own loaf a couple of days later, and while it was good, it couldn't match hers.
I reached out to her for ideas and also revisited my old sourdough recipe that I had made years ago. By combining these tips, I began to gradually improve my results with each batch. In doing so, I have learned a lot, and have enjoyed lots of fresh bread throughout the summer!
I've also experimented with using up excess starter, though my favorite way to use it is these amazing and super easy pancakes! (Even my husband loves them, and he's not usually a pancake fan.)
Below is my working recipe, as well as some lessons I have learned along the way:
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