I've tried dozens of times to create a sourdough that I could keep alive. I followed so many different recipes, read so many blogs online and yet it seemed after a couple weeks my sourdough would die, or I'd lose interest. A goal for myself for the new, 2023 year was to start a sourdough that I could successfully keep alive and use regularly!
As most know, my mom passed away from cancer in June of 2022. It was pretty devastating for myself (and my siblings). I leaned heavily into gardening, cooking and baking; things my mom was extremely good at. Every time I stepped into my garden and put on an apron to create something in the kitchen, I swear I could feel my mom and hear her laugh. I felt my heart healing with every project I was able to accomplish.
Back to the sourdough! I've learned over the last eight months that if I have to follow a recipe, it's not going to be as fun for me. So when starting my own sourdough I thru all the rules out the window. I got a clean quart jar, added about a cup of bread flour and added enough water that it became a thick pancake consistency. I let it sit for a couple days and then dumped out about half, adding about another cup of bread flour and enough water to keep it the same consistency. Every day for about a week, I'd dump out half the jar and add more ingredients. My first attempt at a sourdough bread was a flop, I wasn't sure what I did wrong! I almost thru out the starter, thinking I'd completely failed. I decided to give it another shot, and for a couple more days I'd just dump out half and add more. Before I knew it, the starter was really starting to smell and look like a really good sourdough starter! I decided to reattempt my hand at using it... so I found a very simple cracker recipe on Pinterest. Using about 200 grams of my sourdough starter and 30 grams of melted butter, adding whatever seasoning I thought would taste good together (let me know if you want the full recipe). I practiced this recipe for several days, stocking up our snack stock-pile, adding peanut butter to some and different seasonings.
It felt like a huge accomplishment the day I finally made bread. Wanted to start simple and when I seen a video on TikTok talking about Sourdough Milk Bread, but that's a recipe for another blog. Oh, and for those that also do not know... my sourdough's name is Pam - after my mom.
In Loving Memory of my momma (11/5/1960-06/26/2022)
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