When I was a child I looked forward to those visits to Grandma’s house because she ALWAYS seemed to be baking bread! It was amazing to watch as the basic simple ingredients of flour, water, and that mysterious stuff called yeast, it was all mixed together and somehow transformed into something that smelled wonderful and tasted even better. Grandma was not what we would call an “Artisan Baker” by today’s standards but her bread was totally unique to her. In the years since she has passed away no member of the family has been able to duplicate her results.
I started baking pies and cakes with my mom when I was a kid. Since I was the first born, my mother figured I should learn how to cook. It didn’t matter to her if I was a boy or a girl, knowing how to prepare food was something worth learning. I found that I seemed to have a talent for cooking and baking, and I’ve been learning and doing ever since.
My own attempts to reproduce a home baked loaf like Grandma is what caused me to start exploring the wonderful world of bread baking. The amount of history and diversity I discovered about this deceptively simple process and combination of ingredients surprised me. I’m now hopelessly hooked on “sourdough”, and the fantastic tastes and textures that can be achieved using a wild yeast culture. Starting With Sourdough came about as a way to contribute what I can to others out there like myself.