A small pause from the cause: the joy of sourdough bread

 

A good start to a good day

One of the few things better than messing about in small boats is baking bread, in particular sourdough bread. 

 I suppose I could blow smoke rings and tell you how baking bread was good for the world's ecology, and was a credible social gospel move because it made good sense of the resources available. 

But I might as well just come clean; I bake bread because I find it incredibly enjoyable! Sourdough in particular is high on my list for the simple reason that it takes four days of work. Or perhaps I should say offers four days of pleasure. 

• Day 1, late at night take the starter out of the fridge and let it warm up so it's ready to feed in the morning 
• Day 2, early in the morning feed the starter set it outside or any place warm and wait until it's doubled or tripled in size. Then mix up the dough. Let it rest for an hour. Form it into a ball give it maybe three more hours to properly rise . Shape it and put it in the fridge. 
• Day 3, whenever you get up take it out of the fridge and bake it. Let it cool and put it in the bread box for 24 hours.
• Day 4, slice it and put your favorite topping on it or eat it plain it doesn't matter because it'll be delicious. 

 It's hard to beat 4 days of sensual pleasure in a row when you're 75 years old. 

Brian