Artisan Sourdough: Wholesome Recipes, Organic Grains by Casper André Lugg and Martin Ivar Hveem Field

I got this book at the Texas Book Festival in 2019, and I've finally given it a read. 

Takeaways from the book:

✱ Sourdough is a practice that is more than 5,000 years old.

✱ Flour, water, and salt---that's all you need. But there's a fourth ingredient that is critical, and that is time. 

✱ There's only one way to become a good sourdough baker, and that is by baking as much as possible.

Let's get started then, shall we?

Before I could do anything I had to order rye flour. I've never bought rye flour, and since I'm not shopping for myself in stores, I ordered it from Amazon. 

And since I'm trying to do everything right this time, I got out, for the first time, my scale. 

The book tells me to use three 1-quart glass jars with lids, so I scrounged around and found those, too.

Baking sourdough bread begins with a sourdough starter. "A sourdough starter can live a long life as long as you take care of it," the book tells me. "When we make a starter from scratch, we simply mix fresh flour and water, and then let it sit in a warm place. After a while, the mixture will begin to ferment by itself. At first, the fermentation process goes slowly. But as you follow the steps...the microorganisms will multiply...In just one week, your glass will be full of life and you'll be ready to get started on your first baking session."

Okay.

DAY 1, MORNING

Mix 1/2 cup (50 g) finely ground whole-grain rye flour with 1/3 cup (80 g) water at 86 degrees F in one of the glass jars. The mixture should be relatively moist. Place the lid on loosely so it is not completely airtight and let it sit for 24 hours in a warm place, preferably at about 77 degrees F until the next morning. 

Repeat for the next two mornings. On the morning of Day 4, add 1/4 cup (50 g) of your sourdough culture to the second jar---this becomes your main starter and you can discard the contents of the first jar. Feed it with 1/2 cup (50 g) rye flour and 1/3 cup (80 g) water at 86 degrees F. Let sit for 24 hours. On the morning of Day 5, put 2 tablespoons (30 g) starter in a new clean jar. Feed it with 1/2 cup (50 g) rye flour, 1/3 cup (50 g) white bread flour, and 1/2 cup (50 g) water at 86 degrees F. Let it sit for 24 hours. You could now bake with this, but to be on the safe side, it is recommended that you feed it twice more before doing so or put it into the refrigerator if you will not be baking immediately.

Done.

Let's see what happens next.

Update: My first sourdough loaf!

Have you ever made sourdough starter?

I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.