Sourdough bread

… because everyone else and their grandma is also making it :P

A friend had told me about a local bakery that was selling baking supplies, and before I knew it, I was buying sourdough starter from them as well. Fast-forward a month later; when I learned that one of the high school students I was discipling was making some really quality-looking sourdough loaves at a very proficient pace (i.e. once or twice a day!!), I knew that it was time. She sent over the recipe she was using, which turned out to be really, really thorough and approachable. And a few days later… this loaf was born.

For a first loaf, this definitely turned out way better than I’d expected. Like honestly, I was shocked haha. It’s probably thanks to the thorough recipe!

Notes for next time:

• Try waiting a little longer (half a day or so) so that the starter can be more active before making the levain.
• Make deeper scores so that they don’t disappear when the loaf expands. Maybe try using a serrated knife instead (I used scissors this time).
• Don’t forget to turn down the heat after the first 20ish minutes!! I had forgotten to do so, and thought the crust was a bit too hard as a result.
• Finish eating the loaf more quickly LOL.

Verdict: Did this make me a sourdough lover? No. This one loaf took up a lot of time to make (I basically had to go over every 15-30 minutes to stretch and fold it in between reading a book), so I’m not sure if I’ll be doing this regularly. But my roommates really enjoyed it so even if not regularly, I’ll definitely be trying this again sometime in the future!

(original recipe from A Beautiful Plate)