I am a total bread baking noob but I love to eat it. Sourdough is my absolute favorite, so I need to give this a try.
I know I will need starter (I was planning on buying some online as I don’t know anyone irl), and I have a Dutch oven. Yes, there are tons of recipes online, but I want your tried-and-true ones, especially if they are suited for altitude.
Or maybe I need to read a book? If so, which one?
Basically, how do I stuff my face with homemade sourdough in the easiest way possible?
Thank you all!
Starter is easy to make, just mix unbleached flour and water and let sit, then twice a day discard half ,replacing it with more flour and water. Unbleached flour makes a difference.
As for baking ,mix starter, flour and water until it is the.right volume and consistency, let raise ,kneed, let raise again, shape, and let raise, and bake. You can add salt (often recommended but it is fine without), oil, raisins, herbs. Spices, but that is it. There is debate about how many kneed and.punch down steps to take as well. Measuring is useful until you know what a good consistency is, but this isn’t a chemistry lab: people have been doing this in primitive conditions for several thousand years.
Have fun. The hard part it is takes days to do well so it is hard to mix with travel.
Unbleached flour is TOTALLY the way to go. Otherwise you’re not really buying flour per se, different brands have all sorts of different crap at least here in the U.S
If anything it’s easier than a tamagachi was because you can leave starter in the fridge and forget about it for a few weeks and it’s basically fine.
Thank you, I like how you say it’s not a chemistry lab - baking can seem intimidating because of that. I don’t travel much, so I think I’ll be able to find a routine to make a loaf once in a while.