We’ve had one great success and one great failure. Well, not really a failure–it was an experiment. There’s no way to know for sure how long to proof your sourdough until you jump in and give it a go. So, we did that, and I apparently over-proofed (gave it too long–14 hours, probably 10-12 would be better) and it was a flat brickish loaf. It tasted great when we first took it out of the oven, but it became harder and harder to eat–some compared it to hard tack.
The one success, however, was following the Biscuit Recipe from the Little House Cookbook. Turns out cooking your biscuits in coconut oil on a cast iron skillet is DEFINITELY the way to go. Absolutely. Baking biscuits will likely not happen again in this house, they were perfect this way, perfect.
And, I’m looking forward to get a new sourdough starter brewing post-passover. It’s time to clean out the leaven! This process of creating my own starter has really brought home the idea of the ‘leaven’ that surrounds us on a daily basis. We pretend we can contain it in the baked goods and handy packets that we purchase at the local market, but the truth is we are completely surrounded and the most we can do is regularly clean house and purge the old…
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I love the thought of the leaven being all around us and cleaning it out occasionally. I'm also happy to share some starter if you want some. Speaking of which, we let our play date fall through the cracks. If there's a day next week that works for you, let me know. The only thing I have is on Friday.
Yes! Life is insane right now, but I could use the calm of a play date! So, would Tuesday work for you?
I absolutely love this recipe and have used it for over 20 years … Things I've learned: place the bowl in your cold oven with the light on and the starter will be ready to use in 4 hours; always save a bit of dough to add to your starter and it will thicken it up; "multiply & split" your working starter at least once a year so that one starter can rest while you use the other (this helps the yeast multiplying); use just enough oil to keep the biscuits from sticking; use a lid to create a moist "oven" in your pan; try to keep metal away from the starter as much as possible to get the most rise (I use a glass to cut them even) …
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