Sourdough

For a good part of our childhood we were used to eating fresh, homemade bread. Our mother, even though she was mother to ten children and worked three nights a week as a nurse, among other things, was a very fine cook and still made time to bake her own bread. Even in her latter years, going to see her for dinner, there would often be warm, freshly made wholemeal bread rolls to go with a first course, calmly factored into the elaborate preparations for the main course and dessert.

At quite a young age I was able to discern the inferiority of 'shop bought' bread, primarily its cloying texture and neutral flavour. Later I came to understand the deletrious impact of industrially produced bread (the so-called Chorleywood process) - virtually any bread bought from a supermarket, however misleadingly it might be described on the wrapping. Current bread manufacturing processes result in a product that is so devoid of nutritional value that legislation prescribes that it is fortified with minerals and vitamins. 

 

Janet is quite an expert at baking and bread making, especially sourdough in various forms. Her current sourdough starter, regularly fed and a constant feature within the refrigerator, originates from six years ago, passed on to her from a smallholding friend. 

Making sourdough involves a process that requires a lot of attention, spread over two days. Over the years Janet has made, and continues to make, fine-tuned adjustments for a consistently satisfying outcome. Janet is fascinated and enjoys the subtle intracacies which can affect the results. She has a routine of generally baking a loaf every other day. The result is that we are blessed with enjoying good quality sourdough every day. Here are some recent eamples:-

Not everyone has the time nor inclination to bake their own bread. A busy home life, demanding jobs, a natural propensity for convenience and not being that fussed about bread in anycase: some or all of these factors might be reasons for not doing so. Although, breadmakers have mitigated the inconenience of breadmaking to some extent.

At the same time, if you don't or cannot make your own bread, buying 'real bread' is significantly more expensive compared to a standard supermarket loaf. It is perfectly understandable why people not only choose to buy cheaper bread but might have little option to in order to make ends meet. 

It also has to be said that sourdough, like muesili for breakfast or serving salad in a wooden bowl, has become a disparaging trope of a middle class life-style. I hasten to add that our family growing up was relatively poor - we qualified for free school meals, for example. I might also add that long before Alpen first appeared on supermarket shelves our Swiss mother used to make her own mix of oats, milk and dried and fresh fruit which we called ‘Swiss porridge’.