Sourdough Starter Has A Learning Curve - Several Tricks To Keep It Happy - Quarantine 2020

In March 2020, we were governed into quarantine. A pandemic had pushed us into our homes and the "Stephen King" horror story had begun.  

The stores quickly ran out of things, yeast for example. The sourdough revolution began. I had an old starter in the fridge but started a fresh one all the same. I have worked with the sourdough starter before and even if it is time-consuming, I like the bread that results. I have not used it on a continuous basis before but that all changed when it became the only way to keep a constant yeast base available. 

I start the process in the evening so the dough has all night to rise. I then do the second rise the next morning--first thing--and wait the appropriate time to let the second rise happen. I find the baking and slicing of the warm sourdough usually happens around lunchtime, which had proven ideal for myself and my family. It becomes part of lunch. 

By the time the local yeast supply resurfaced, I had become attached, as had my family, to a warm loaf of sourdough at least a few times a week. It is in this constant rotative routine I discovered a few tricks I'd like to share. 

1. Keep the sourdough bread dough covered, not only with a dish towel but also a piece of cling film, it needs the moisture.

2. After you feed the sourdough starter, which I do at night, place it in a cupboard in the dark overnight. The resulting healthy base, as in a picture above, is a good example. Apparently, a sourdough starter likes the dark. It must be shy. 

3. When you take the first-rise bread dough out and re-work it, take a piece of parchment paper (the size that will fit your cast iron pot for baking as well as the bowl you use for the rising) and sprinkle flour on it. Tip the dough onto the parchment, then do the kneading on there. When complete, lift the parchment with the bread into the bowl and cover again with the cling film and towel for a second rise.  

4. I have now begun to do the second rise in a "proof cycle" in my oven as I do normal bread to make sure the environment is warm, like a proof cycle in your oven with the light on. It has made a big difference in the speed and strength of the second rise for me. 

All these hints will help ensure the strength of your starter. It will also make a loaf of lovely sourdough bread. 

 Now in August 2020, yeast supplies are available so scarcity is no longer the case, though we still can see and feel many absent foods and supplies. At least not toilet paper, flour, or yeast. 

Actually now in North America, we can't find canning supplies because there is a grassroots revival happening with the many wanting to preserve foods of the season. That is another post. Excuse me while I scramble to acquire more mason jars, which are in high demand. And lids--yes, also lids! Oh and rings, and pressure canners, and water bath canners. The list goes on and on. 

I have been canning for years, it never occurred to me that once again the "Stephen King" horror novel would impact my ability to partake in my hobby just as the season is in full swing. I am very happy the online world allows me to find some of these things and if I am lucky, to have them delivered. It is like a treasure hunt; unpleasant and scary but still possible. I am thankful we in Canada are weathering this situation better than many other countries. 

~ Cookin Mum