Sourdough - a labour of love

Yum, sourdough.  It has such a unique flavour and is best eaten with nothing more than a nice slather of butter.  Now, with all the gluten free baking I've been doing over the past couple of months I've really been craving some "real bread".  But of course, I still don't want to end up eating a whole loaf myself.  So, I did some research and found what I believe to be a perfect compromise - sourdough.  Did you know that sourdough has numerous health benefits to which all other breads cannot hold a candle?  Just google sourdough benefits and you'll find tons of information.  But the short version is that beneficial bacteria are created during the fermentation process that are not unlike the good bacteria you would find in yogurt or sauerkraut.  Yay!

So, once I knew that sourdough was what I wanted to bake, I quickly found out that it wasn't as easy as throwing some yeast, water, flour and fat together and letting it rise.  No, sourdough requires days upon days of feeding and watching.  It's actually very little work--just don't start it expecting to have a loaf tomorrow.

Now, I am not going to post a recipe here.  Rather, I am going to point you to the website I used for my starter and bread.  It is a very comprehensive, day-by-day chronology of how to build your sourdough starter and ultimately, make your bread.  http://cookistry.blogspot.com/2011/04/building-sourdough-starter.html.  The only place where I found I didn't match her instructions was in the time it took to get an active started.  She said 8-10 days and mine took 15.  I tried after 11 and the bread failed miserably.  Hence, my message to you is, be patient.  Only use your starter once you see it bubbling up in the jar after your daily feed.  If it doesn't rise, it's not ready, no matter how many bubbles you have!

Give it a try and let me know how you make out.  Here's what my first (successful) loaf looked like - and yes, I baked it on a pizza stone(!):