So, here it is. This wonderful, soupy concoction is the beginning of one of my favorite breads ever - sourdough. I never really thought of having a starter (which in itself is dead simple to make), but my dear mother made one back at the end of March and I became intrigued.
Me: "You mean it's that easy?!"
Mom: "Yep."
Me: "All you do is mix flour and water together and let it sit there on the counter? And that's it??!"
Mom: "Yep."
Me: "How does it rise?"
Mom: "From the natural yeast spores in the air."
And this I thought was just fascinating. There is bread-making ability in the air all around me and I didn't even know it. I mean, how easy did God make it for us with this one? Plus, this starter will have a flavor and texture characteristic all its own, since it's being fed by water and flour and air from my area down here in southeast Texas. So, I've jumped on the starter bandwagon and followed the footsteps of thousands and thousands of people before me - I took some of my parents' starter and started my own. And it's this process that I think is the most special about this bread. It's just another way that we get to share with each side of our families, those older and younger than us, the wonderful tradition of making good food together. God surely does know what He is doing.
7 comments:
is it normal to get a wee bit emotional about a dumb old blog post on bread??.....well, i'm touched by this, just because it made me start thinking about how my mom loved the simple things in life....the birds, seeing how the leaves of different trees had their own characteristics, collecting hundreds of rocks because they were something God-made.....and i'm using the same breadmaker that bill gave me Christmas of 1990 when mom lived here.....each loaf i'd bake brought us both such joy, as i'd bring the steaming loaf to her bedside to show her, and she'd smile and give it a "tap tap tap" on the top ....we both loved those moments!......anyway, she would have loved even more this sourdough bread (although i have to say the old fleishmann's yeast made some awesome-tasting breads!)......love your blog paul ! ..... stop making me cry...
Neat! When I was in the Peace Corps, we started our own yogurt culture stuff from a yogurt culture that the Danish lady next door had already established. I have never liked commercial yogurt since then. You really develop a palate for the flavors that should be there, not the chemicals they put in it to mass market it. I look forward to seeing how you progress through the whole process.
(I deleted my other comment when I realized I had left half of a sentence out and my comment made no sense!)
I was wondering if "Danish lady" was a brand of yogurt I was supposed to know about. That makes a lot more sense! :)
Paul, I love that you've started a blog. I'm looking forward to see where it will take you. My blogger dashboard updates when any blog I'm following has a new post and I check it pretty much daily so I'll keep up for sure. Happy blogging and happy gardening!
Yes, you know, that Danish Lady, the one with the thing, that one time, you know!! :)
What a great blog. And the photos are great too. I never noticed how pretty one individual 'star' of the jasmine is.
Mostly, I enjoy this chance to get to know my nephew a little better. A lot is revealed when one writes about things close to one's heart.
But now I have to start reading the blogs of my daughters! :-0
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