Yes, there is both joy and grief in baking sourdough bread. And before we go any further, please know I am not an expert bread maker. I have made sourdough bread on and off for several years–tried a few different recipes. My favorite sourdough bread recipe is made with potato flakes, whereas you may find other bread makers baking other types of sourdough bread. This is what has worked for me in the past–and not worked on some “not so good” days.
If you are familiar or seen some of the content creators who identify themselves as “homesteaders”--you may have seen them dressed in Victorian and prairie style dresses working in “perfect” updated kitchens. And their breads are picture perfect too–works of art. You don’t need any of this to be a bread maker. All you need is a few ingredients, lots of patience, and the willingness to try.
Bread is a blessing.
Currently I am using Kara Courtney’s recipe shared on her blog, Wildwood Wonder. I’ll link her story and recipe below. What I like about Kara’s story with sourdough bread making is she is honest and admits “killing her starter”--which I have done many times!
All of this is in Kara's recipe, but here are the staples you will need to get your starter going and bake sourdough bread:
Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour
Oil
Sugar
Salt
Instant Potato Flakes
Filtered Water
Yeast
Butter (optional)
I'm not going to try and explain every step of making sour dough bread--Kara has done a wonderful job in explaining step by step how to make your starter to baking your loaves. But I will share some tips I've learned and photos I have taken during my sourdough bread making journey.










And a little apple butter is always good on warm bread!
So what's the grief and often times disappointment in sourdough bread baking? Your starter can die for no reason--or at least mine has on a few occasions. You believe in your heart you have done everything right and your bread dough doesn't rise. Just this week, my dough didn't rise well. Waking up to dough sitting in the bottom of the bowl covered in oil is disappointing to say the least. And to be perfectly honest--it's time consuming and can be expensive if you are baking bread more than once a week.
Then pray tell what makes a person go back or even begin on this sourdough bread baking journey--where's the joy in it all?
Well for me....
It's my Grandson after his fourth piece saying, 'Granna, this bread sure is good! The best bread I've ever tasted!'
It's the text from a friend who shared her loaf with her elderly mother. 'Me and Mom enjoyed it with our supper! It's so good!'
And it's a reminder of goodness and life--
Baking bread reminds me of Ruth going to the barley fields day after day gleaning so she and Naomi would have bread to eat.
Baking bread reminds me of the story of the young boy with five barley loaves and two fish--asking myself questions such as, who made these loaves of bread for this young boy--was it his mother--grandmother? Did he buy them at the market? And then the miracle of Jesus taking this boy's lunch and feeding more than the five thousand--the twelve baskets of leftovers--
Baking bread reminds me that God not only provides us with the nourishment of bread for our bodies, but for the gift of the True Bread of Life.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
(John 6:35)
Give us this day our daily Bread
(Matthew 6:11)
A humble thank you for reading this week's story. I pray in some small way you have receive a blessing and be encouraged. It's perfectly fine if you have no interest in baking bread--but next time you are at a farm stand, farmer's market, or at a place where homemade breads are sold--buy a loaf and savor in the goodness of homemade breads.
To learn more about Farmer Rhodes Granddaughter and why sharing stories are dear to my heart--more of my story can be read here, https://www.farmerrhodesgranddaughter.com/about
My prayer is to share in this space on Wednesdays--two Wednesdays a month--maybe more.
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