My first loaf of sourdough

As promised, here’s a report on my first sourdough bread – mission accomplished!

First of all, the bread is delicious. The texture is chewy and crusty, and you can taste that yummy tang of sourdough. This is by no means a step-by-step guide, but I wanted to share a few highlights in case you decide to experiment.

• I was originally going to use the recipe from Tartine but switched to Foodbod Sourdough because it was easier for a beginner. Except for the starter, which was from Tartine, I followed the master recipe on Foodbod. I used more salt – 10 grams.

• The dough rises on the counter first and then in the refrigerator. I probably should have allotted more time for both rises.

• Sourdough isn’t kneaded in the traditional sense. You go around the bowl folding the dough onto itself. I rushed this part, and my dough most likely needed more folds and turns.

• This was my first time using a banneton basket. I sprayed it with water and dusted it with rice flour the day before and let it dry overnight. Then I dusted it again with rice flour, creating a non-stick surface. It worked perfectly.

• My starter, the homemade equivalent of yeast, was a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and white bread flour, but the bread itself was 100 percent white bread flour. No problems.

• I didn’t score the dough properly. I had a lame (pronounced LOM) that came free with my banneton but didn’t realize until the last minute you’re supposed to slip a special razor blade over the end. I had the wrong kind of blade, so I used that by itself and didn’t go deep enough. But it still worked to some extent.

• Most recipes call for pre-heating a cast iron Dutch oven inside the main oven as it pre-heats. You can also use a cold Dutch oven and put it in a pre-heated main oven.

• The Foodbod site recommends putting your dough in a cold Dutch oven and then putting it in a cold main oven and then turning on the heat. It sounds crazy, but it worked. I would still try it other ways to compare and contrast.

• In terms of technical presentation, the holes are too big. However, they did not impact the taste! While the holes are not a deal-breaker, I will continue to tinker with the process to see if I can fix that.

All in all, it was a huge success. The no-knead breads are easier, but so far I haven’t made one delivering that unique sourdough taste. Gollum, my starter, is now resting in the refrigerator. All I need to do is pull him out of the fridge and feed him to get him up and running again.

Now that I’ve done it once, it doesn’t seem so hard, and I’ll probably bake some sort of sourdough something every few weeks. And I’m not giving up on Tartine, I just found the other recipe easier to follow.

I’d say the biggest thing to figure out is timing, what with our busy retirement schedules and all. While a bit time-consuming, making sourdough bread is actually not labor-intensive, and I imagine you could develop a simple routine with a little planning and practice. I’m thinking it’s a three-day project.

I hope this has been helpful. Even with mistakes, there’s nothing quite like homemade sourdough bread.