When I’m not working my full time job, or photographing, knitting, or rolling around in nature, I’m…
Well, sometimes… baking!
As part of my modus operandi to “take photos and make things”, of course I take photos of all the things I make. One of those things I make is rustic sourdough bread, from my home culture.
Taking a bite of warm, fluffy sourdough bread is like a tasty hug that grocery storebought bread just can’t compare to, in my opinion. There’s something nourishing and gentle about slow fermented bread, and each loaf that comes out of the oven is like Christmas Morning to me.
Growing up, my mom would bake bread every Saturday. She knew the recipe by heart and the results of her labor would be gone in a matter of days, if not hours. The crumb was soft, nutty and slightly sweet, thanks to the honey she added from a 5 gallon bucket from the flour mill, and the bucket had a permanent place in the kitchen. Sometimes she would bake rolls as a door prize at family birthday parties and the attendees would fight over the winning ticket. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on homemade whole wheat bread is a luxury I didn’t even fully realize as being all that special, until I had bread from the store and learned the difference.
At the heart of homemade bread for me is the sourdough starter culture. Mine is a culture I’ve had for a couple of years, kept in the fridge until I’m ready to use it. I use a whole wheat starter. Many sourdough bakers name their starters with a bread punny name and I am no exception. Meet Clint Yeastwood.
When I text my mom photos of my bread I know it makes her proud… and I’m pretty sure she sheds a sentimental tear of two as well, because that’s just how Mom is. Now I get to share that same love of home made bakes with my friends and family, and I hope they get at least a taste of the care in every delicious bite.
Another source of inspiration on carrying on the home-baking tradition is my sister in law. A handful of years ago my sister in law started baking sourdough bread. She’s an incredible cook and baker, and there is something so beautiful about the care and love she puts into her bakes especially. In recent times her bread has been an inspiration to me to also chase the life of the open crumb, which has been a NSFW (Not Safe For Waist) pursuit indeed. While most of the time my bread couldn’t come close to the drool-worthy loaves Kim makes, she continues to be the measuring stick I bring to my efforts.
You can’t go wrong with a beautiful rustic country loaf of sourdough. While it’s something slower than instant gratification, it’s a relatively quick process in contrast to other disciplines, which can take quite some time to see the result of your handiwork.
This bread is too dangerous, I can’t keep it in the house anymore.
This is the standard loaf recipe I always use, I just added lemon juice, lemon zest, and fresh blueberries, no added sugar, and cold fermented 48 hours. It’s not an everyday bread, but it’s amazing lightly toasted and with honey butter, pictured here. My honey butter sauce has a dash of homemade vanilla extract as well and it’s so heavenly….. far too tasty to keep to myself!
During the holiday season I make about 5 loaves on average per week, both to give away and to enjoy with our festive meals. My bread baking tapers off during other seasons, both due to the incredible heat that it creates in my kitchen, and also because I am more careful about my carbs during the rest of the year.
Rustic loaves like these are not only beautiful, but they are very worthy of trying, if you have never made sourdough. The ingredients are so simple, and once one great loaf is achieved, baking these is addictive!
