Hello Sourdough

I bet for every 5 people you know at least 1 of them bakes sourdough (or is immediately connected to someone who does). It’s like 6 degrees of separation: “homesteading” edition.

I am obviously that 1, haha.

I don’t have a long journey into sourdough backstory. A good friend of mine showed up one day with a basket of homemade butter, fresh buttermilk and a jar of sourdough starter. We ate the butter, used the buttermilk and I figured out what to do with the starter.

For weeks that translated to bagels on repeat. For us, for Fred’s coworkers, for visiting family. Everyone ate bagels. They aren’t difficult to make, the recipes were easy to read/understand, fresh bagels make for a superior breakfast and the oh-so-popular sourdough boule was too daunting to take on.

I eventually got over the fear of a “failed” loaf and got up the nerve to try making one. It was, in hindsight, a little underwhelming but it tasted great. From there I joined a few sourdough/bread groups online, did a deep dive into all things sourdough, and kept baking. I quite literally learn something with each loaf.

There is much I could share about the lessons I’ve learned on this journey so far about a few things but for now I just wanted to share my goal(s) in sharing my sourdough story here. That being to encourage anyone as intimidated as I was or discouraged by sourdough. Whether you’re baking for yourself, your family, your community, as a hobby or an eventual business venture - get started and keep going!