In an earlier post about sustainable living, I wrote about the fun I am having learning to bake breads by scratch. I wanted to share with you this picture of my Sourdough Bread I baked this past week.

If you want to have some reading fun, google sourdough bread recipes. The sites you find will range from scientific explanations for flour fermentation (smile) all the way to the mystical and magical, and even the romantic.

You will find that people share in the most loving ways their relationships with their sourdough starters. Sourdough starters become household members to cherish, and many writers will proudly remember the exact age of their starter.

Recently my wife and I stopped at a little bakery (actually a small addition built into the side of the family house) on the way to a family reunion. I noticed that the owner, Wendy, had several Sourdough breads on a shelf for sale. Being the curious person I am I started asking Wendy about her starter.

Wendy told us that her starter was passed down from her Mother, was 13 years old, and she brought me back to see a very large vat.

She took a loaf that she had in the back and cut me a slice. Her Sourdough bread was fantastic!
Light yet full body, a taste almost sweet if not for the slight tang from the soured dough.

Wendy offered two secrets to me and they have made a huge difference in my own sourdough bread.

After your starter has.....started........and you are on the weekly feeding schedules (schedules depend on how often you use your starter) use milk with your flour for feeding.

Also, Wendy suggested that I still use yeast in my Sourdough Bread Recipe to help the leavening process. In my earlier baking I tried to see if the "natural" yeast in the air was enough with the starter for a good rise (it obviously wasn't).

These two suggestions worked wonders for me. The above mentioned bread was the best that I have made to date. So thank you Wendy and two thumbs up!

Brett