Sourdough Starter

Who doesn't LOVE the smell of homemade bread? When I was 16 years old I worked for a very small Italian restaurant in Westminster, California. Every day after softball practice I would waitress for a few hours at Capirelli's. Walking into that place around 4 PM was like a step into Heaven! Warm fresh bread smells wafting out the door, the smells of homemade pasta and cheeses, the red gravy...wow, my mouth just waters thinking of it. 

OK, focus! 

I always loved homemade bread, but the thought of all that kneading turned me off to the process. One Christmas my son bought me a bread making machine that was better...just not the same as my childhood memories. But I used it for a few years. Then my friend, Debbie, found a magazine called Grit - Rural America Know How (www.grit.com). And it had recipes for No Knead Bread!

One of my favorite types of bread is Sourdough. I love the San Francisco REAL sourdough the best. So once I was making white and wheat bread on a regular bases and they turned out nicely, I knew I wanted to focus on Sourdough (and Rye, but that's another story). 

Starter that needs to be stirred

Healthy Starter (I know the pot looks gross!)

Luke 6:31
"And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them."

Keep your starter Happy and Healthy

To begin, you need a good Sourdough starter. You can get it from a friend, or purchase it, or you can order it for free from Carl. Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough can be gotten for free, with just a self-addressed stamped envelope (www.carlsfriends.net)

Oregon Trail Sourdough 
P. O. Box 321 
Jefferson, MD 21755 USA

I was lucky, my friends at Adobe-farm.com had some nice starter and I was off and baking. Now let me tell you the recipe for these NO KNEAD bread is a slow process. It takes 12 -18 hours to start and that is without baking time. But trust me, it is worth it!

There is a lot to be said about SLOW FOOD. You can research it yourself, if you’re interested. It seems to me every time I begin to relax about our food source a new recall comes into effect. Let’s recall hamburger, as it makes your brain practically melt, recalls on chicken...was God telling me to be a vegetarian? I guess not, because then they recall spinach because it had human waste. Gross!
Can you smell it already? Order your starter, if you don't have one already...

Tonight, before I go to sleep, I will put together the ingredients to make my bread, and allow it to work its magic until tomorrow. It takes 12-18 hours...I will update the blog with everything you need to do to make your own NO KNEAD bread. 

Can you smell it already? Order your starter, if you don't have one already...