May 2019 | Go Eat Your Bread With Joy

May 23, 2019

Feeding a Sourdough Starter without Having to Discard: a Method

As shown in the last post, there are lots of ways to feed a sourdough starter. Most of the time, newbies learn a method that involves regularly discarding (i.e., throwing away or repurposing) half or almost all of the starter they maintain. But it’s not the only way. Below is a look at feeding a sourdough starter without having to discard–and how and why it can be better.

In what sometimes feels like another life from the one we’re now living, my husband, Tim, and I wrote a cookbook, The Einkorn Cookbook. While it was primarily about featuring 100+ recipes for ancient (original, nonhybridized) wheat, it included a few recipes for sourdough. We (he) developed those recipes during our household’s first season with sourdough–one in which we discarded a big chunk of the starter every time we baked. I loved the bread; I hated the discarding. We both wished there were a better way.

Turns out, there is.

May 13, 2019

Feeding a Sourdough Starter Grapes: an Experiment

There are lots of methods for feeding a sourdough starter. Each baker has his or her own way. But: feeding your starter grapes? Once I heard this idea, I had to try it. Here’s what happened.

Google around for how to find a sourdough starter, and you’ll see a lot of opinions. You can get a starter from a friend (or a local bakery) or buy a starter online. If you’re adventurous, you might grow your own. (This post from almost a year ago lists a bunch of the possibilities.)

Because sourdough starters are, fundamentally, just a mixture of flour and water and air, making your own is totally doable–but not without some difficulty. That’s why many bakers have found little helps to accelerate activity and simplify the process. One example: feeding a sourdough starter green grapes.

May 1, 2019

3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Try Homemade Cannoli (and Why to Ignore Them)

If the idea of making homemade cannoli sounds elaborate, that’s because it is. No matter how much you love these Italian pastries that originated in Sicily, there are lots of reasons to skip trying them at home–but at least one that trumps them. Here’s a look.

If you, like generations of Italians before you, think there’s nothing like a good cannoli, crispy shell giving way to sweet, thick Italian cheese, maybe you’ve considered making them. The problem? Going after homemade cannoli isn’t exactly a beginner kitchen project. Here are three reasons you might want to skip it.