Proof is in the Loaf
Homemade Sourdough bread has been having its moment for the last few years, but long before viral videos and artisan loaves, I was making old-fashioned sourdough loaves in my kitchen. Unlike some sourdoughs with a crunchy browned outside, the way I learned to make it was with a soft, light golden crust. While in some ways the sour flavor is more prominent, it is also a sweeter flavor that lends itself to being coated in butter and slathered with your favorite jam or homemade applesauce. My oldest son affectionately called it “Yummy Bread” as a child, and we all found this perfectly appropriate.
It started when Anna Catherine, Adam, and Noah were babies, and we were living in South Carolina. A dear friend of mine gave me a starter from her bread, along with specific instructions on how to keep it “alive” and make bread every few days. Yes, I said “keep it alive”. This required feeding the bread on a regular schedule, which seemed as though I had acquired another child to feed.
Shortly after receiving the bread starter, I divided it and taught my mother-in-law to make the bread. We both made bread for several years. She even named her start – Bob, I believe it was. While I never gave mine a name, it did require quite a bit of attention. There were times we even “babysat” each other’s starts if one of us was traveling. Well, as my schedule became more hectic and we had two more children, I sadly had to give up the breadmaking. Subsequently, my mother-in-law became the resident bread maker. For the next two decades, if Nana came to town, several loaves of bread accompanied her in a cooler. While she no longer makes it in the large amounts she used to, she does still venture over our way with a loaf or two in tow.
When my last child moved out for college last year, I discovered something- time! Now granted, Anna Catherine keeps me busy with her kids, and the arrival of my next grandson from Kayla and Noah means even more baby time, but between all my grandmother duties, I decided I wanted to get back into making bread!
Ironically, after I had taught her so many years ago, I called on my mother-in-law to teach me the art of making sourdough bread again. It took me a few rounds to get it down, but it didn’t take long for me to remember (and enjoy) the sticky feeling of the dough as you knead it into a ball to rise. After it rises for at least six hours, you have to “punch it down” and make the loaves. The loaves then rise for another six hours. Then it’s time to bake them, and the smell of the bread baking is one of the best scents you will ever experience. It’s all we can do not to eat some as soon as it comes out of the oven. Oh, wait, we do just that sometimes!
Breadmaking is a tricky process that requires just the right temperatures and timelines, but when attention to detail is taken, and the stage is set just right, I end up with six beautiful loaves of bread every three to five days! This bread is made slowly and in small batches, the old-fashioned way.
And the best news? We have decided to offer it to you guys! Whether through the occasional stocked posting on our website or on the front table for walk-ins and pickups on Thursdays and Fridays, you can have some of this traditional family sourdough bread, too!