Sourdough

I never really cared for sourdough bread growing up. On the rare occasion that I was offered a slice, I ate it and then thought, “it’s just funny shaped and has a funny taste.” I was not impressed. When it comes to bread I am a grandma sycamore white bread kind of guy. I like bread that doesn’t fall apart and has some substance. My mother used to make homemade bread with a bread maker for Sunday dinners and that bread was good, like really good.

I’m not sure when Mikayla first started talking about a desire to make sourdough, but it must have been about two years ago. The first thing I can remember is when we took a trip to Sundance. She saw a book in the shops that was a recipe book/travel journal. She told me that this would make a good Christmas present in the future (Mikayla no longer gives me subtle hints, she straight up tells me what she wants, it makes life so much simpler, I highly recommend this method) and so I looked it up on Amazon and bought it for half the price it was being sold for up at Sundance. After reading that book she asked for a Dutch oven because that’s what you bake sourdough in, and that was her Easter present one year. Finally when we were shopping at IKEA she saw a great jar to keep sour dough starter in. Collecting these three items took over a year but making your own starter for sourdough is kind of a crazy process so we just never got around to making it.

A few months went by and I found out that at work there is a professor in my department that is really into sourdough bread making and he offered to give me some starter. I readily took him up on his offer and brought it home to Mikayla. She wasn’t as excited as I thought she’d be because she wanted to make her own starter. Well, a few days went by and we decided to try our hand at making some bread. Apparently this a whole day affair because you have to let the starter warm up over night, then you add flour and salt and let it raise for about 6 hours, kneading it every 90 minutes or so. Then you put the dough in a hot Dutch oven, place it inside a hot oven, and then it becomes bread. If that seems like a lot of work for one loaf of bread, then you are right, it is a lot of work but man… is it good. We made BLT’s on thick slices of homemade sourdough bread and I am still thinking about how good that sandwich was. I love this stuff and I get excited each time she makes a loaf.

So what’s the point? Mikayla told me that she wanted to get into making sourdough and would bring it up from time to time. While staying within our means we were both able to help her make that hobby a reality by buying things slowly and not giving up on that dream. If your spouse expresses a desire to do something then do what you can to make that happen. It doesn’t have to happen all in one day and money doesn’t have to get in the way if you work up to it over time. Support your spouse and enjoy their dreams together.