It seemed like a simple adventure: Visiting our son and daughter-in-law in sunny San Jose, California. It was indeed sunny except for the day we hiked in the Saratoga Hills in misty rain. Despite everyone’s best intentions, we spent much of that day soaked and frozen. But that may be a story for another day. The crux of this tale has to do with the impact sourdough can have on people’s lives.
Our son, in a culinary effort to overcome the bane of gluten, had developed a sourdough bakery operation in their kitchen (and spilling into their garage). For many, correctly fermented sourdough, by modifying the chemical structure of gluten, does hold the key to the enjoyment of gluten-rich bread without the inflammatory effects. That is precisely the benefit obtained in their household. As my wife and I were briefed on everything sourdough, I noticed a glint in her eyes. And so, as a proof of concept, we began consuming sourdough baked on-site to determine whether its magical properties would apply in our case. As proof of concepts go, this one was successful. Successful, but lifechanging.
As the person in our home who has had a lifelong relationship with a breadmaker, including developing light spelt flour (low gluten) recipe adaptations for pretty much all baked goods in our home (from loaves to hot dog buns, hamburger buns, sub buns, and muffins), I sensed, correctly, some new writing on the wall. A broadening of my breadmaking engagement if you will. And a whole new vocabulary that included levain, banneton, bulk fermentation, tare, autolyze, and feed your starter. And no breadmaker involved. Pity.
As we were preparing to return home, our son gifted us a small package of white powder that he claimed was freeze-dried sourdough starter. Back to Canada we came with said package buried in our suitcases. We were excited but nervous about starting our sourdough adventure. Things like what if our starter doesn’t rise when we feed it? And a little research suggested that setting up a sourdough bakery was not a small undertaking.
First things first: Creating a dedicated space in the room in our basement famously called the mechanical room. In truth, even though it does house heating and cooling equipment, it is more a winery, lettuce grow-op, and a workshop for stained glass, projects of all kinds, and general repairs. Add to the list a sourdough bakery. Once a couple of storage shelves were cleared and lighting installed, the specialized sourdough making equipment gradually showed up including a few long-term borrows from our kitchen. Fortunately, the bag of white powder did prove to be active starter, and on our first attempt, as it sat on a heating pad borrowed from the grow-op area, it did that fermentation growing thing. Success.
It must be said that sourdough is very needy. It needs to be fed. It is fussy about its diet. All its ingredients need careful weighing. It needs gentle warming at various stages. It needs frequent attention. All of this because it is pretty much a living thing. Overcoming early dismal results such as runny dough (fixed with a change in flours), failure at razoring the dough, overall improvement of technique, and the benefit of lessons learned over several months have led to sunny days for the new sourdough baker in town. And a better sense of routine so that this new labour-intensive activity fits into daily life a little more cleanly.
And then, word came in from San Jose that they had secured a considerably more “energetic” starter while visiting their friend Moose in the London, Ontario area. Moose, also, had developed a sourdough operation and his starter, transported back to San Jose (presumably buried in their luggage) proved to be highly energetic. It was reported that even dough in refrigerated bulk fermentation doubled in volume. So, it came as only a small surprise that during a week-end visit in Montreal where the San Jose folk also showed, our son quietly handed me a small plastic package with Electrolyte Powder written on it. The contents felt like they were about to explode, but there it was: My very own portion of the Moose sourdough starter via San Jose and Montreal. With a careful deflating operation to mitigate potential explosions, we fed the new starter and watched in wonder as it exceeded prior expectations. And yes. We can report that the Moose sourdough starter is vigorous and energetic.
So rolls the sourdough journey. We are successfully making loaves, baguettes, pizza crusts, and English muffins. Enjoying the delicious bread factor without the inflammatory response. And tweaking recipes and techniques to suit our needs. And hopefully done with questionable cross-border shipments. Not nearly ready to attempt sourdough donuts.
