Everyone is doing sourdough. Apparently, we all needed something to keep alive while we sat at home in a quarantine. At least if it dies, we don’t feel super bad about it.
Sourdough is basically maintaining a ratio of equal parts water, flour and starter. At first you have to keep adding more flour and water to the starter until you get a good bubble…but after that you can put it in the fridge and use it (or feed it) every few days.
About my starter: it took 4 tries to get the fucker to not mold, dry up, or just die. And because it took so long and so much time, I drove the damn thing across the country. (Well, I did leave half in the fridge at home so who knows what fresh hell will be waiting after a few months…)
I’m now committed to making bread every 3-4 days and this is starting to feel slightly abusive. At least in this case I can kill my abuser.
I found that sourdough is about feel…the recipes you find don’t quite work all the time because of things like humidity or the moon or your spiritual guide hates you that day. You have to just get the feel of the damn thing. One technique that definitely worked for me is using a cast iron pot with a lid. Because the (not so) secret is steam…to get a good crust you have to steam the bread then bake it. You can either use a cast iron pot and lid or bake it on a sheet pan with a pan of water underneath. (DON’T use glass (it shatters!) and I know this because I forgot that detail one day. I then had to clean up hot, wet glass with 3 kids offering to help. I still got the bread made and I didn’t burn myself. Yay me!)
That’s probably enough from me, isn’t it? After all you’ve all Googled it and have your own starter at home. How do I know? Because there is still no fucking flour at the store!