After crowing about how I had reduced making sourdough bread to a science, my starter of mostly a year crashed.

Breads made with commercial yeast are easier, quicker and more bullet-proof than sourdough breads, but not as good (and not nearly as much fun!), and yeast is thin on the ground these days, so I started over.

HOW TO MAKE A SOURDOUGH STARTER:

It’s a doddle, with just three ingredients: (1) flour (2) water, and (3) patience.

Stir together 100g (a scant cup) of flour and 1/2 C. water, and leave it out at room temperature overnight.

Then, each day, remove about 2/3s of it (you don’t have to be exact), and add another scant cup of flour and 1/2 C. water, then stir.

Save the rejects if you’re thrifty. Keep them in the fridge, not at room temperature.

In five to 10 days, depending on the temperature, the starter will be nicely bubbly, like this:

. . . and will have a pleasant slightly sour smell. If it turns green or blue and/or smells nasty, start over!

The yeast in a sourdough starter is of course what makes the dough rise, but its other characteristic, a slightly sour flavour, is caused by some of the same bacteria (Lactobacillus sp.) that are used in making cheese. (I’m a font of useless knowledge.)

To make bread, stir 1 C. of the starter into the rejects:

. . . and leave it at room temperature overnight. It will get bubbly:

Stir in 1 tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and enough flour (I used two cups) and stir, until the dough starts to come away from the bowl:

If you didn’t save the rejects, just add more flour . . . but that means it will take longer to rise.

On a floured surface, knead for about seven minutes, or until the dough is elastic:

Sprinkle a baking tin with corn meal (or you can use oil), place the loaf, then cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel:

Then wait . . . because you’re growing wild yeast, the rising time will vary. Maybe a couple of hours, maybe overnight.

But … EEK … what happened here?

Partially it’s due to the nature of sourdough bread, which because it takes longer to rise, the dough spreads out more, and is often baked in a vessel, but also because I didn’t add enough flour to the dough, and didn’t correct for that.

Thus, unintended focaccia.

Enjoy some finger poking:

Then:

. . . which looks like a lot, but was only about 1/3 C. Use an olive oil you like, because you’ll definitely taste it in the bread.

Add spices or cheese of your choice. I added Mexican oregano and some epazote. Epazote is a Mexican spice that has a slight smell of kerosene if you use too much, but lovely if used sparingly.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes or until browned and delicious:

If you’re going to enjoy it another day, wrap it tightly, coz otherwise it will dry out quickly.

Yum!

-R