We love sourdough bread. Any time I'm making homemade pasta sauce and pasta and I ask the hubby to run to the store for a loaf of fresh Italian bread, the kiddos ask for sourdough. There's just something scrummy about the tangy taste that they can't get enough of.
So why not try to bake our own?
I've been devouring Mike's Sourdough Home website, and I really want to give it a go. I did follow his advice and sent a SASE to Friends of Carl to get a piece of Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon Trail starter, but it hasn't arrived yet, and I'm impatient.
I thought making our own could be a fun food science experiment to do with the kiddos, so I began a sourdough starter last week. Admittedly, this is take two, as my first attempt last year didn't work out so well, as I forgot to feed it twice daily. Totally my own fault. I won't admit how much flour I sacrificed in that experiment.
So far, so good. It was slow to becoming active, as we're in early Spring here in the Rockies and the kitchen was a bit too cool. I helped it along by putting it into a cool oven with the light bulb turned on, and since then I'm keeping it on the top of the stove, with the light on during the day. It's bubbling happily after each twice-daily feeding, and I'm aching to bake with it. Mike advises that he wouldn't use a starter that's less than a week old, nor one that can't double itself in size between feedings, because then it can't raise your bread, either.
We're getting close - it's been active for a week now, with twice daily feedings as of Monday, so I should be cautious and wait until Monday of next week to use it.
It's so hard to wait!