sourdough bread Volunteer

Can you believe this?

[anecdote] I've been using this bread for a week and enjoying every second of it. I'm nearly out, and that will not do. I currently have some four or so starters that need attention but I'm enjoying this culture that hitch-hiked on the Whole Food's grain so much right now that I want to encourage it instead. The others will just have chill awhile longer, Thanksgiving is a few days off and I can't have a bunch of jars bubbling about demanding feedings. Plus there's already one experiment involving yeast running on the patio. [/anecdote]

This is how it happens:

The starter. Getting started.


A little ball of sourdough comes out of the refrigerator and meets up with ball of fresh dough of about equal size. They join and go into a jar. They wait, or proof, or rise, or ferment, or do whatever it is yeast and bacteria does when left alone for 8 hours. In this case longer, 10 hours, irresponsible as ever 13 hours later it puffed up into that down there ↓.


doubled ↑ united with twin ↑ back into jar ↑

8 hours the ball puffed up into this ↓.

weighs 8oz↓ fed weighs 16oz↓ bigger jar ↓

after 6 hours
fed and new container ↓

10 hours later ↓ fed and chilled. This is a bad hour to form loaves. Will wait until I'm ready to come around to this, will feed slightly more and bring back to room temperature, if not slightly warmer. This aging will also help the bacteria portion of the culture catch up with the yeast portion which is at the height of its activity.

Chilled. Next day appeared not much different. Fed slightly. Reserved golf ball size piece of dough to maintain culture. Added flax seed oil, one egg, salt, kneeded within inches of its life, formed loaves.

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pictured twice because it's so beautiful
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give to someone
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