No, this isn’t my idea of a silly post. It’s just baker’s jitters, I guess. Oy. You don’t know how this latest creation is making me nervous no end.
The starter that’s residing in its Christmas-themed jar in the fridge has convinced me, once and for all, that it’s alive.
I’ve lamented before that I haven’t had much success with multi-day starters. Particularly one that called for organic grapes (thankfully, the recipe didn’t ask me to trample those underfoot). They always die before I’m ready to let go. Or maybe I’ve been too eager to let go, too afraid of seeing another rotting, graying victim in my fridge, day after day after day. Too afraid to admit I’d been a bad mom to something as innocent as a blob of flour and water.
Maybe now that I’m the parent of a teen I’m more patient about the process, more relaxed about sitting back and letting time do its work. Because wonder of wonders, my starter is a starter!!! SUCCESS!!!
Yesterday, Aisa asked me what she could bake. I asked her if she wanted to try the starter to make a sourdough loaf. She eagerly said yes, but after following the first set of instructions, it just sat there, so I said I’d take over and own the failure should it occur (ha ha).
Well, it didn’t. Peter Reinhart said it would take 4 hours for the barm+water+flour to double. Mine took more like 10. And when I added the rest of the flour, the salt, and the water, and let that rise, it took about 7 hours instead of the suggested 4-5. But it is most definitely alive and I am soooo pleased to recognize that smell of sourdough, so familiar yet has been so elusive all these years…
I guess my starter had always been a starter. It’s just a little slow. Hee…. Like mother, like starter.
Pictures and story tomorrow, and if I do things right and not hurry too much, maybe even a boule or baguette!!
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