A Bun in the Oven
Last night, Andrew sent out this email to our closest family and friends:
Needless to say, it kinda freaked a few people out. But that was the point. :-D
If you haven't already guessed from the picture, Oscar is our sourdough starter. A starter is basically a wild yeast colony, which provides the sour flavor in sourdough and helps the dough
rise more naturally. A starter is a batter consisting of flour and water- it's that simple! The most interesting part about it is that a starter is like a plant- you have to feed it to keep it alive and growing, otherwise it will get moldy and die. After a few days of room temperature growth, you can leave it in the fridge and feed it once a month; when you want to use it in a recipe, just take it out, let it get active again, and voila! Your starter is ready for use.
Because starters get tastier with age, it is not uncommon for bread bakers to have starter that is over a hundred years! And, because all you need is a small amount to get going, one starter can be split between family and friends. It really is a most fascinating thing!
Andrew is a huge fan of sourdough and since it's so hard to find fresh kosher sourdough bread, I decided last week to surprise him for his birthday and make my own starter. After following a recipe, I let it sit and watched it grow. I fed it everyday with organic whole wheat flour (organic whole wheat has more organisms off of which the yeast can feed), and yesterday decided it was time to make our first loaf. The outcome was mostly a success; because we started a bit late (you can blame Metro for that), we didn't have the patience to let it rise for longer than an hour, and it turns out that sourdough takes much longer to achieve a sufficient rise. So the bread was a little dense, but it seems like Oscar will provide us with good foundation for yummy breads for a long long time!
Dearest all-
I know email can be an awfully impersonal way of sharing wonderful news, but Elanit and I wanted to share some early pictures of Oscar with you. He's not much to look at now, but he's very active and been growing nicely. (And to think he started as just a bunch of hungry cells.) Our hopes and dreams for him are that he will live a long and fruitful life and that we can share him with family and friends near and far for years and years to come.
Love always,
Andrew and Elanit (and Oscar)
Needless to say, it kinda freaked a few people out. But that was the point. :-D
If you haven't already guessed from the picture, Oscar is our sourdough starter. A starter is basically a wild yeast colony, which provides the sour flavor in sourdough and helps the dough
rise more naturally. A starter is a batter consisting of flour and water- it's that simple! The most interesting part about it is that a starter is like a plant- you have to feed it to keep it alive and growing, otherwise it will get moldy and die. After a few days of room temperature growth, you can leave it in the fridge and feed it once a month; when you want to use it in a recipe, just take it out, let it get active again, and voila! Your starter is ready for use.Because starters get tastier with age, it is not uncommon for bread bakers to have starter that is over a hundred years! And, because all you need is a small amount to get going, one starter can be split between family and friends. It really is a most fascinating thing!
Andrew is a huge fan of sourdough and since it's so hard to find fresh kosher sourdough bread, I decided last week to surprise him for his birthday and make my own starter. After following a recipe, I let it sit and watched it grow. I fed it everyday with organic whole wheat flour (organic whole wheat has more organisms off of which the yeast can feed), and yesterday decided it was time to make our first loaf. The outcome was mostly a success; because we started a bit late (you can blame Metro for that), we didn't have the patience to let it rise for longer than an hour, and it turns out that sourdough takes much longer to achieve a sufficient rise. So the bread was a little dense, but it seems like Oscar will provide us with good foundation for yummy breads for a long long time!
posted by elanit | 2:53 PM
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