Sour Hour

Im anxious and ready 

four 

        l   o   n   g

  hours 

pass 

IT IS TIME!

The knife meets the the crunchy crust 

But the tension against my knife brings me disappointment 

No lacy crumb

No medium holes

It is dense. 

I try again

My favorite recipe takes 24 hours 

Something about it is addictive

Before you even start the recipe 

three 

         l   o   n   g 

                           weeks

                                        pass

of feeding your new starter 

E V E R Y D A Y 

Your starter is alive when 

A tangy acidic scent invades your nostrils  

A stretchy elastic batter covers your spoon

And bubbles fill the jar 

Once your starter passes the float test 

A combination of flour, water, starter, and salt creates a shaggy dough 

Now the stretches and folds

Every stretch develops strands of gluten  

Every fold create air pockets

thirty

         l   o   n   g

                           minutes 

     pass  

I repeat this process four times

The dough sits at room temperature for bulk fermentation  

six 

     l   o   n  g

          hours 

        pass 

I am ready for bed but the dough calls for me 

My hands pull the dough towards me 

Creating structure and surface tension 

The dough is plopped in the bannaton 

I place the dough in the fridge to cold proof 

O V E R N I G H T 

twelve 

l   o   n   g

                                         hours 

                                    pass

The sun has risen 

And so has my dough 

Beeping repeats until the oven reaches 500 degrees 

Into the scorching box it goes 

fourty 

         l   o   n   g

                          minutes

                                   pass 

Warm nutty tones fill the air 

Crispy crust covers the loaf 

I can't help but smile 

My knife glides through the block of salted butter

I smear a thick layer filling each tiny hole 

My teeth sink into the bread 

The slightly chewy crust crushes between my molars 

The subtle tartness dances on my tastebuds

My friends devour the loaf 

Exclaiming it’s the best one yet

I know I can make it better 

I feed my sourdough starter  

I'm ready to do it again 

Authors Note: My sourdough journey started last year and has quite literally consumed my life. Some say a starter is like a pet because you have to feed it everyday. I even find myself canceling plans to make sure I can complete the stretch and folds every 30 minutes. There are so many variables that can affect the outcome and that’s what makes it addicting. You constantly are experimenting with new techniques trying to outdo your last loaf. This all may sound silly but it is so worth it at the end.