A Mother Jones headline caught my eye recently as it bluntly told me "You're Using Recipes Wrong." Eager to prove the author wrong, I dove in. It turns out he has a point.
Growing up, my mom felt very strongly that I should learn the domestic arts. Clearly she had some serious foresight.
It wasn't until last week that I finally let myself explore the world beyond flour, water, and salt. I had grown proud of my minimalism -- no artificial rise for me! But as I explored more recipes, I started to get yeast-curious.
I thought making my starter would be the hardest part of making sourdough bread. It turned out to be the easiest.
While my starter happily captured wild yeast, I had a lot to learn about my dough.
Having decided to embark on a sourdough adventure, I dove into research mode. Lucky for me, homemade sourdough is getting kind of trendy, so there are, if anything, too many resources.
The Julia's Rooted Kitchen motto -- "what's in season and what to do about it" -- can feel tough in the winter. Here in DC the winter isn't terrible, but there's certainly no abundance of food growing.
But winter is the perfect time to bake bread.