Thank you little wild yeasts for raising my bread!

When the weather looked like it might be warm enough for a few days I set about cultivating a new batch of wild yeast sourdough starter. This was four weeks ago. In Hawaii, it took me about 5 days to have a very active starter which we enjoyed using for bread and pizza dough for five years. My friend Nikki now has the starter and is taking good care of it while she bakes for her family. I am thankful that “Henri” has such a great home and is continuing “his” legacy! But back to my starter challenges. It just wasn’t growing. I would peer in every morning, looking for bubbling activity. There was definitely gas emerging, but after the initial release of gases from bacteria, the yeast just didn’t seem to develop. I considered the effects of chlorine on my little buddies and distilled water every day to add to my mix. (You feed the starter every 24 hours with flour and water.) I also considered the type of flour, the hydration level, the temperature of the kitchen, etc. I did everything I could to find a warm spot, even bathing the yeasts in a warm bath when I was home (sinking a glass into another bigger glass with hot water). I ran out of my Hawaii flour and bought new flour. I also finally added some wild blueberries we had harvested at a neighbor’s farm. This particular neighbor is special – Gordon Wilson’s farm has been in his family for generations. Unfortunately he and his wife will need to move and retire in Eastern Washington because it’s too expensive here for them on his pension. So he is selling off his farm, the home he was born in, everything. I was so sad. But I learned later that a young family bought the blueberry farm portion of the land and intend to keep farming it. So…it seemed appropriate as a last resort to add Gordon’s blueberries in hopes that the flora on their surface would kick-start the yeasts in my glass. (I was holding out for just the variety in MY kitchen, but alas, I am happy to add Gordon’s blueberry flora because they have a neat story.) SO – in a day or two I was able to show the boys lots of little gas bubbles distributed throughout the starter! Over the next several days, the bubbles became bigger and more prevalent. Friday morning I was brave enough to try an actual bread, to see if my little “yeasties” were up to the challenge of rising dough. I mixed a wet dough, folded it, checked the gluten window, shaped it and retarded it overnight. Today my schedule did not allow a rigid adherence to proper warming, shaping, etc. so I just went with it and adapted. The oven spring was nevertheless quite impressive! I am ecstatic!!! So happy to have a starter on hand that seems to have adapted to my little ecosystem here, temperature, feeding schedule, hydration, etc. It’s like getting to know your newborn…sort-of.

Healthy wild yeast starter. Lots of air bubbles, slightly sweet yeasty smell. Blows the lid off the yogurt container when left on the counter for a few hours. Really freaks you out if you don't know what's happening and the lid hits the ceiling!

I know it’s not the same, but exciting nonetheless to nurture a living organism to a point where it can really work for you. The product of my efforts is in the picture. You an click on it to see the crust and crumb structure. Not bad for first effort at a baguette! The bread of a wild yeast starter sourdough is inherently denser (I did not know this until this round of research and experimentation) so I am not going for a light, commercial yeast style bread. Mine is going to be denser. Nice to know that is a distinguishing feature. Looking forward to getting back into making a variety of breads as time allows.