2024

My Sourdough Journey

By Anna - November 09, 2024

The great thing about having your own blog is you get to share whatever you want, even if it is out of the norm of what you usually share. Although I love to make quilts, I also love to bake and cook and I do have a recipe section here on the blog where I share some old favorites.

However, today I would like to share a new journey that I started in sourdough making. I have always been intrigued by it, but was always apprehensive and scared to start, but on October 27th I started my first sourdough starter, which I purchased from Sourdough Sparrow. When I decided to start this journey I wasn’t sure where to even begin, so I researched several websites and found lots of recipes and advice and it was the story behind Sourdough Sparrow’s “Eden” that I decided to start my journey with a purchased starter. For their story about “Eden,”  please visit their website as it is their story to tell.

My story starts on October 16th when I bought my starter. On the day I received her, I immediately started the rehydration process so I could get her growing. I was so looking forward to making that first boule. That’s what it’s called when you make sourdough in the half circle looking shape.

It would take several days of feeding my starter before I would be able to bake that first loaf. I took those first few days to gather all the supplies I would need as I am not one to start a new endeavor half baked. I usually go all in or nothing.

By the 4th day of the rehydration process my starter was starting to look pretty good. From everything I had read, that bubbly goodness in this pic was what I was supposed to be getting.

I can be very impatient, so it was on this day that I mixed up my first batch of sourdough bread using the recipe and instructions provided from Sourdough Sparrow. One thing I noticed right away with sourdough is it is very sticky compared to yeast doughs that I have made in the past.
Ready to turn out and shape.

However, I would not let that derail me and I pressed on. I had not received all my supplies that I had ordered, so I found a bowl that I could use to put my first boule' in and put in the refrigerator overnight (I didn't take a pic of that). 

The next day my boule' would be ready to bake; however, my package didn't come that day (thanks USPS for not delivering as scheduled), so I took the time to go to a local store and buy an enamel cast iron pot as I did not have one and everything I had read, that was what you needed to bake it in.

I'm sure it was probably due to my impatience that my first endeavor did not turn out as I would have liked. Although it was edible, it was not as good as it should have been.
The white stuff is flour that I should have removed.

The inside had a nice crumble or so I thought so!

One of the traditions of sourdough starter is to give it a name. What I had purchased was called "Eden", but that was not what I would end up calling mine. I believe it was on day 3 that the information card from Sourdough Sparrow said I should come up with a name and just out of the blue, I said to my husband, "I think I'm gonna call her Molly." His response was, "that's a good name." At the moment, it didn't ring a bell and I wasn't sure why that name came to mind; however, once he left the room, it was like a slap in the face when it doaned on me that was his little girls name that passed away in 1991 at only a day old. Part of me said I should change it, but another part said no, if he had not wanted to hear her name in our home, he would have said something. I think that name came to mind because God wanted "Molly" to be a part of our home, even if its only a sourdough starter.

Although my first attempt didn't quiet turn out as I thought it should or how I wanted it, I would not be discouraged. Instead I kept feeding "Molly" and said we are going to get this right! In my research, I had found several people that make sourdough bread and I decided to switch up the recipe. In addition, I paid a little more attention to the consistency of my dough. By this time my supplies had also come in, so I was able to put my second boule' in a banneton bowl once I had gone through all the processes of stretching and flipping and all that stuff to the dough. She rested in her banneton bowl overnight looking like the queen she is.
I tossed her out onto parchment paper so I could make the cuts in the top.
She looks so big and beautiful!
Scored her with the lame!
She is beautiful!
I was so excited for how this one turned out. The first one was darker. I liked the lighter color. I also added a pan of water under the pan she was cooking in to aid in keeping the bottom from burning. It was as golden as the top. Her crumb was beautiful and she tasted great!
Five days later I made another loaf using the same recipe I used on the second loaf that turned out so good and I swear it was even better.
My husband likes it too. With my discard I have made pancakes and cinnamon rolls. The pancakes were great, the cinnamon rolls still need some more practice on those. As I type this up on the night of November 9th, I am waiting for dough to finish the last rise before I try something else new. If it turns out maybe I will share in another post.

This is the last pic I will share here, which was taken on the 8th showing Molly's bubbly goodness.

If you've ever considered starting your own sourdough journey, I cannot tell you enough that it is so worth it. I am obsessed and wouldn't have it any other way!

Loving my sourdough journey!

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