Day 25 out of 40

I was home alone today. These is not a one-off experience. There have been countless days, between moves, between states and even countries, that my sourdough starter was the one constant friend I had in the kitchen. During COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, many came to appreciate a bond with their sourdough starter.

My sourdough starter is the kind of friend that listens to me, helps feed me, plays with me, and keeps me company. It responds to my touch, welcomes the wild yeasts from my home and gives me joy.

My kids are always telling me I talk to my sourdough and I know I do. It  keeps me company as I pray, clean, sing, work and carry on with life. It meets me when I want to try something different. It survived being dried, starved, being very cold and very hot. It has been fed scraps and kids leftover cereals. It has drank tree sap and beet juice. 

Sourdough is also a teacher, showing me that there are many ways to breads and the breads I make with the help of my starter are one of a kind. Each loaf can hold a path, a story, a lesson, a connection with our community or just some butter!

These Sourdough buns were made with a leaven fed with milk and was in the fridge for 5 days! (not intended but I am glad it waited for me.) The recipe is Amy Halloran adaptation of Olia Hercules Pampushky Ukrainian garlic bread we have been making as part of #cookforukraine #bakeforukraine classes we have been teaching together. Today I used sifted wheat, whole wheat and rye flours, 52% preferment, about 30% eggs, 45% liquid, 10% butter plus sugar and salt. If my math is correct. But sourdough forgives bad math as well.

The next Connect and Cook for Ukraine fundraising online event is with Honest Weight Food Co-op March 28 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT and I hope you can join us.