Ode to Sourdough

Now that the weather is cooling, can we talk about sourdough bread again? In my house, we never quit talking about it. It’s an ongoing project, and on days when everyone is doing work and school from home a fresh loaf of bread barely makes it to dinner time.

We have a routine. My daughter prepares the dough at night. She’s a night owl and I turn into a pumpkin at 9pm. The dough rises overnight, and when I am up in the morning I do the final folding, chilling, scoring and baking. By the time everyone lumbers downstairs mid-morning, a golden brown loaf is cooling on the cutting board for lunch. Someone (he knows who he is) usually cuts off a heal before anyone else even gets to it.

When and if my daughter is able to go to college next year, I will dearly miss this routine. So this winter, however much we are required to stay home, extra pounds be damned, I’ll be baking sourdough with my girl.