Cooking Corner - Sourdough Bread

Written By: Ellen Kleven  |  Posted: Thursday, April 7th, 2011

            Writing last issue's article about bread reawakened my interest in the subject and spurred me on to learn and read more. I'm particularly taken with sourdough breads. My curiosity is sparked by its history and renown, its health benefits and the complexity of its taste.  In my quest to learn all I can about sourdoughs, I found that the basic structure of commercialized loaves and old-fashioned sourdoughs are fundamentally different, terminology and uses for a sourdough's starter is debated and gets confusing, and it's actually much easier to make and more versatile than most people imagine.

            I first began making sourdough bread about a year and a half ago, shortly after Daniel and I were married. I didn't understand the subject very well and assumed it just couldn't be that difficult. I was right in that it isn't very difficult, but my lack of knowledge shone through and I reaped what I had sown-inconsistent loaves with no experience to give consistency. When I became pregnant, my energy level plummeted and I eventually discarded the starter, as I wasn't using it regularly. My recent studies of the subject have proven quite useful, and I look forward to utilizing my newfound knowledge.

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