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.

Feeding a sourdough starter without having to discard: a method / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

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.

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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.

Feeding a sourdough starter grapes: an experiment / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy
The idea: add a handful of halved grapes into a sourdough starter, see if it jumpstarts growth.

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.

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Do Chia Seeds Burn Fat? (and 10 Other FAQs)

According to Google search data, people have a lot of questions about chia seeds. On the rise in the last 12 months are queries such as: “Do chia seeds burn fat?” “Are they keto?” “Can you give them to babies?” “Can you eat them raw?” If you’re like most people, you already get that they’re good for you and, if you’re like 75% of Instagram survey respondents, probably keep them on hand. But what’s the skinny on the rest of it? Here’s a look.

11 FAQs on chia seeds, from "do chia seeds burn fat?" to "Can you feed them to babies?" / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

The message is out. Everybody’s aware: chia seeds are packed with fiber, Omega-3s, antioxidants and other essential nutrients. In fact, in an Instagram poll this week, 92% of survey participants who eat chia say this is why. Touted as everything from a superfood to a nutritional powerhouse, chia seeds today are hip enough to star on upscale restaurant menus, yet common enough to find in the local grocery store.

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What’s the Best Olive Oil for Salads to Buy at the Grocery Store?

In a recent Instagram poll, I asked followers about olive oil loyalty. Do you prefer a certain brand? If so, what’s the best olive oil for salads and everyday cooking? Here’s what surprised me: among responses, three names kept repeating—including one that, turns out, has also won at least five olive oil taste tests online.

What's the best olive oil for salads and everyday cooking? / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

Anyone who buys olive oil—and that’s essentially all of us, according to last week’s Instagram poll—knows the challenge of sifting through shelves of options at the store. How should you decide which one to buy? Is price most important? Or should you focus on source? Are oils from Spain better? What about Italy?

I asked you for your opinions last week, and about 24% of the 200 people polled said yes, you are loyal to a certain brand. Of those respondents, most people gave me one of three repeated answers.

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Making Homemade Tomato Sauce with Canned Tomatoes: Which Brand is Best?

We all know nothing beats fresh tomatoes from the garden, grown in summer sunshine and picked straight off the vine. Sometimes, however, such as in the dead of winter (I see you, negative wind chills across America!), canned tomatoes are the next best thing. So, inspired by a recent canned-tomato comparison at The Kitchn, I took one basic tomato sauce recipe and made it with four different brands of cans. Here’s a look at how the different options stacked up!

Canned tomatoes for use in homemade tomato sauce: a look at how different brands compare / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

Listen, it’s hard to beat the convenience of canned tomatoes. They’re available year-round. They can sit in your pantry indefinitely. Even better, they’re cost-effective, priced anywhere from $1.50 on the economical end to $4+ on the high side. But, wait: $1.50 to $4? That’s no small price disparity, at least when what we’re talking about is the same basic ingredient, tomatoes, saved and canned and sold. So what’s the deal? Do some brands of tomatoes truly warrant price tags double the rest? Will buying the pricier option make a difference in cooking, especially when you’re making, say, homemade tomato sauce?

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What’s the Difference between Whole30 and Keto?

For a lot of Americans, new year means new diet—bringing terms like juice cleanse, sugar fast and healthy eating to mind. Two modern options in particular, Whole30® and ketogenic, are on trend. But what are they? Should you try one? Below, here’s a bite-sized look at the question of what’s the difference between Whole30 and keto!

Fresh produce for a post on keto vs Whole30 eating // go eat your bread with joy
Photo by Dose Juice on Unsplash

It sounds like the beginning of a joke: if two people come to a dinner party, one on Whole30, one on the keto diet, what do you serve–carrot sticks? The fact is, these buzzwords are two of 2019’s hottest food crazes–labels that have inspired an entire selection of newly launched diet-specific Chipotle bowls. And, given that it’s January, a month known for resets and resolutions, if you aren’t currently trying either Whole30 or a keto diet, you probably know someone who is.

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