Wednesday, August 5, 2020

A Sourdough Story Of Sweet Friendship During Covid


I'm back!  Sorry for my prolonged absence but I've been suffering from lack of motivation lately.  Is anyone else having the same problem?  I'm also trying to spend as much time outdoors as I can as it  keeps me from thinking about the problems facing us now.  My priorities are being with our small, immediate family, working in my garden, golfing with my husband and baking when it's raining.

Speaking of baking, I wanted to tell you about a wonderful and very kind baking story that happening during the time we were in lock-down this past spring.  I've met so many wonderful bloggers over the years and one of them is Kitty from Kitty's Kozy Kitchen. We share a loving of baking and being with our grandchildren. Kitty loves tea cups and having tea parties with her granddaughters! About 20 years ago, Kitty was given a live sourdough starter from someone she knew who had brought it back from Arkansas in a cooler.  It was called a Civil War Starter. Kitty has kept it alive all these years and continues to use it to this day. 

At some point, Kitty mentioned her starter in one of her blog posts.  I asked her if she would consider sharing her starter with me.  She said she would be happy to share it but she didn't think a live starter would survive being sent from Texas to Wisconsin. I remembered reading about a way to save sourdough starters for future use by drying it out and found a great tutorial on how to do it at King Arthur Baking Company's website.  I asked Kitty if she would be interested in trying it.  Of course, she did and, within a very short time, I received Kitty's dried starter!  When I opened the zipper bag of dried starter, it smelled so fresh and good!

The same King Arthur tutorial on how to dry the starter also gave instructions on how to revive the dried starter and soon I was on my way into the world of COVID sourdough bread baking (along with countless other bakers in the world who weren't able to find dried yeast on the grocery shelves for so long).

Kitty's starter and recipe from Arkansas were different from the usual starters you might find online in that none of the starter is ever discarded.  After feeding, it is divided in half.  One half to use for baking bread and the other half returns to the refrigerator for next time.  It's also different in that sugar is added to maintain the starter and in the bread recipe.


Here is Kitty's sourdough starter after a feeding.  As you can see, it makes a lot of starter! At it's peak, it contains five to six full cups of starter. I have to tell that you Kitty was so patient with me because I had so many questions about the starter and recipe. ♥  She is such a kind person!


These were the first loaves I made with Kitty's starter!  The starter makes three full-size loaves of bread. If you look closely, you can see that I added walnuts and cranberries to the loaf in the center.  All were delicious and smelled and tasted wonderful!

I was able to bake 2 or 3 times more times with this beautiful starter and, then, I decided to try to decrease the amount of starter.  I started by trying to decrease the recipe by one-third. I didn't want to make so many loaves at one time as it's just my husband and I at home and I was going through a lot of flour.

That was when things started to go wrong.  The starter seemed okay at first.  The first rise would be fine but after the loaves were formed they did not rise very well.  I tried twice to revive the starter but it still didn't do well and I had two baking failures.  When I performed the starter 'float' test, it wasn't floating.  Perhaps this starter likes it better in the south :)

Back to square one!  I did have more of Kitty's dried starter so I started over from scratch.  This time, I decided feed the starter in the conventional way and in the proportions of the King Arthur starter instructions.  I decided to keep some with a much smaller amount of added sugar, and created another starter without any sugar at all as an experiment.


The first bread I made with my newly revived starter from Kitty was this whole wheat loaf from, who else, King Arthur.  I had asked a friend's daughter who bakes a lot of sourdough bread for her family what recipe she was using and she pointed me to this one. It is delicious too! And now, my new "Kitty" starter makes one loaf, which is perfect for us.  


"Kitty" on the left has no sugar.  "Kitty" on the right has just 1 tablespoon of added sugar when it's fed. The one with the sugar in it seems to perform slightly better than the one without the sugar.  Perhaps that's because it was used to having sugar in it for 20 years!

Now that I have a more conventional starter made from Kitty's original starter,  I now also have the flexibility to use the discard when I feed it.  There are some great recipes that use discarded sourdough starter!


The first thing I tried were popovers.  Oh my, these are so good!  A little butter and preserves on a Sunday morning make having discard so appreciated. I've made Sourdough Parmesan Popovers...


 and plain Sourdough Popovers. 


The plain popovers are so delicious with a little butter and preserves and make a special weekend breakfast treat. 


The other recipe I've made with the discard is this Sourdough Coffee Cake. Both my husband and I loved it!


Rather than bake it in a square pan as the recipe indicates, I decided to make 4 mini loaves so that I keep one out and put the rest in the freezer.  The crumble topping is delicious.  The coffee cake would be wonderful with homemade blueberry sauce.  Another great weekend treat!  There are many more sourdough discard recipes that I look forward to trying.  

So, my adventure in sourdough baking continues, thanks, in whole, to the kindness of Kitty going out of her way to dry her starter and send it to me.  My starters are doing very well in their new format and I feel confident I can keep Kitty's Civil War Starter alive and well for a very long time to come!  

The timing with the Pandemic stay-at-home order could not have been better as we couldn't see our family and friends and, even now, we are still are not able to resume our former social activities.  It really does help the mind and soul to be able to have fun in the kitchen creating with Kitty's sourdough starter.   

The recipe for the Whole Wheat Bread and links to the sourdough discard popovers and coffee cake below.  

If you have any questions, or would enjoy receiving a packet of Kitty's starter, please let me know, as I still have 5 vacuum-sealed packets to share.  I prefer to ship within the United States due to shipping costs.  I would also be happy to try drying some of my current starter for anyone who would like to try sourdough baking.  Happy Baking!

Click on links to find recipes for Sourdough Popovers and  Sourdough Coffee Cake 

Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Printable Recipe with my Tips and Edits

Makes 1 loaf

1 cup (227g) fed and risen sourdough starter
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (255g) lukewarm water
2 cups (226g) Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup (113g) AP Flour
2 tablespoons (14g) honey
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons (25g) neutral vegetable oil (I like using Avocado oil)

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, and mix until a loose dough forms.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Turn out of a lightly floured surface and knead until fairly smooth.  It should be slightly sticky. Depending on how wet your starter is, or the humidity in your kitchen, you may need to add 1/3-1/2 cup more flour.  Only add enough flour to be able to form a cohesive, somewhat sticky ball of dough.   

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rise until almost doubled, about 60 minutes or so. I like to turn my oven on to preheat for one minute, and then turn the oven off. This will make a warm but not too hot environment perfect for the dough to rise. Place the bowl inside the oven. It usually only takes 60 minutes for my dough to double in size with this method.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold the dough onto itself pulling from the outside and folding toward the center.  Do this several times. Turn it over and shape it into an 8" log, and place it in a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.  I use an oven safe glass loaf pan

Cover the loaf with a tea towel and let it rise until it has risen about 1" over the rim of the pan, (using the 1 minute preheated oven tip above, for about 60 minutes). Towards the end of the rising time, carefully take the loaf out of the oven without jarring it,  and preheat the oven to 350°F

Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center registers 205°F to 210°F.

Remove the bread from the oven.  Let it rest in the for about 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool. I have taken the bread out of the baking pan and placed it back in the oven for about 5 minutes to get more browning on the sides and bottom. 

52 comments:

  1. Oh Susan, it was so wonderful to see a post on your successful baking with the Civil War starter!! I appreciate all the sweet words that you included about me. You’re too kind, but I love that we are connected by our love for baking. I hope that the starter will continue to bless you with many lovely baked goods in the years to come, from my home to yours. ❤️

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    1. It was such a generous gesture on your part, Kitty, and will just know your kindness will keep my happy for many years! plan on keeping some of your dried starter for myself in case of emergencies :) I also want to try drying my own. Thank you so very much, Kitty! xoxo♥

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  2. How lovely of her and wow on all your baking with this Civil War Starter..I had read about drying it too..Wonderful..kudos to both of you♥

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    1. Thank you, Monique! Maybe you'd like to take another try at sourdough baking this fall? :)

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    1. That's so funny because I have thought that Kitty does look a lot like my belated sister!♥

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    2. I am honored to think that I look like your beloved sister! 🥰

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    3. She was pretty and very kind, just like you! ♥

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  4. That's very sweet of Kitty! And my...all those sourdough creations from you look absolutely amazing and I love esp. those popovers! Well done, Susan!

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    1. It was so kind of her! I think the popovers are my favorite. They are dangerous because I want to eat them all myself :)

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  5. You and Kitty had quite the sourdough adventure. I am surprised that she has kept her starter going for twenty years! Amazing.

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    1. It's been such a learning experience and fun thing to do while we can't do all the things we would otherwise be doing. Isn't is amazing she's kept it going over 20 years!

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  6. What a fun post and one I too can relate to. When in the US I maintained a lovely starter I got from a friend that had some years on it as well. When we moved to Europe I was afraid I’d lose it so I froze half and dried the other half. I packed the dry with our kitchen stuff and brought the frozen via plane. Both survived, but the dried did better than the frozen. I still use it weekly letting it rest in the fridge between feedings. I love the popover recipe and will surely be giving them a go.

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    1. That's a great story too, Ron! Glad you still have your starter going strong in Sweden and hope you enjoy the popovers. I love them!

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  7. Oh did this ever make me smile! Kitty is my older sister (she calls me her younger sister). We have so much in common that we feel like we are related :-) I would enjoy receiving a packet of Kitty's starter, but I don't think my breads could compare to yours. Wow Susan, you get an A+ on this project. Amazing.

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    1. Kitty is the best! We are now Baking Soul Sisters :) ♥

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    2. Forgot to add that I'll send you some dried starter, Deb! I have your address :)

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    3. Thank you Susan! Both you and Kitty are near and dear to my heart.

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  8. Welcome back and I can sure understand being unmotivated. All of your baked goods look very good and glad you found a way to get the starter from Texas.

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    1. Thank you, Larry! I'm so happy it made it here too as I've really enjoyed baking with it!

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  9. It looks very tempting popovers. It looks so delicious. This must be a delicious snack companion to accompany coffee.

    Greetings from Indonesia.

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  10. I love the friendship you and Kitty made in your endeavors! Long ago I was in a group of friends who passed along a bit of the starter as we made our bread. Bravo that you were able to create more than loaves! I'm on a quest to make the perfect popover...my Covid therapy!

    Jane x

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    1. We are baking soul sisters now :) If you would like some dried starter, Jane, just let me know!

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  11. This bread looks amazing Susan, really I love sourdough!! send you hugs and love

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    1. Thank you, Gloria! Kitty's sourdough starter is really good! Hugs and love back to you. ♥

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  12. Such a lovely story, Susan! So amazing that it has lasted so long and has been shared! Your loaf looks amazing!

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    1. Thank you, Kelly! This starter has certainly has been around for a long time! It is delicious too :)

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  13. Thanks for all this information. I love popovers, and hadn't considered making them with sourdough starter. Thanks also for linking to the King Arthur information about drying your starter. I've had one going for several months now, and I'd kind of like to put it away for a while. But maybe not until I make popovers.

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    1. The popovers are dangerously good, Jeff! I think the drying is a great way to either share you starter via long distance or put it on hold for a while to reduce upkeep.

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  14. Oh my! The bread, the popovers, and tempting coffee cake... I don't stand a chance of starting my diet tomorrow after seeing this!

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    1. That you, Belle! These are great recipes for using sourdough starter discard and yes, not good for diets :) Thanks so much for your comment!

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  15. We love sourdough and your bread looks delicious, Susan! And amazing with Kitty's 20 year old starter. I will definitely have to do a starter soon after seeing this. I get you with the motivation thing, about the same here, a difficult time for sure. But baking makes it better! :-) Take care

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    1. Let me know if you want some of Kitty's dried starter, Pam. I can send some to you!

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  16. I've missed you and your blog posts, Susan! I totally understand about the 'motivation' issue. Sort of like the 'blahs' that seem to be going on during this pandemic. But your post brightened my day! I love these breads and especially the streusel topped breakfast bread. My husband would devour it in minutes. And gosh, popovers are an all-time fave of mine. Thanks for sharing and welcome back! Be safe, Roz

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  17. Thanks so much, Roz! I've been spending as much time outdoors as I possible can as I'm afraid of what fall and winter will bring as far as social activities. At least you have a few more months of nice weather where you live.

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  18. What a beautiful story, that’s what I love about blogging. The only time I ever baked bread is when I came to the US many decades ago. Your bread and popovers look a amazing.

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    1. Thank you, Gerlinde! There are so many kind and generous bloggers out there which is wonderful.

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  19. This is so wonderful. The power of friendship and blogging and women. Love it.
    Amalia
    xo

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  20. So happy to see you back, Susan!. I've not been writing blogs so much as reading them and maybe, spending more time on activities and interests that I never really devoted enough time to.

    I love reading about blog friendships, and the icing on the cake (or bread!), is meeting that friend in person. I'm lucky I have met so many of my fellow bloggers in our travels! Your story is precious.

    My daughter is experimenting with sourdough and I'll pass your links on to her. I'm a horrible baker, so I just do the tasting!

    Jane😘

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    1. That's exactly what I've been doing too, Jane. Fall and winter will be long and there will be time enough to sit at a computer then. I want to be outside in my garden, golfing with my husband and with my family as much as I can while the weather permits. Good luck to your daughter in her sourdough adventures. I do have another couple of recipes coming up as soon as I take time to post them :)

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  21. What a delightful story about blogging friendships. I believe they are more important than ever.

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  22. Hope you're doing OK Susan, haven't seen your posts in awhile. My motivation is lower with a new promo taking up all of my days and nights at work now. But just wanted to stop by and say "Hey, friend!" Hope you're hanging in there during these strange times.

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    1. Sorry it's taken me so long to respond, Roz. We've had lots going on and garden clean up is a lot in the fall :) We're good!! Thanks so much for asking! ♥

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  23. Somehow I missed this post! What a fun idea. And what a great idea you had to try this! The world just keeps spinning!

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    1. It has definitely been a crazy, mixed up several months but we're staying busy with some big projects. Thanks, Abbe! The sourdough baking continues here :)

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  24. Susan, you are an amazing baker! And I would love to try your sourdough coffee cake, it looks and sounds delicious. My husband has been begging me to make one for him, but I make excuses not to make it since he is trying to shed a few pounds, lol....
    Love your recipes! Glad you are back!
    xo Anna

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    1. Aw, thank you, Anna! The baking continues here and now my one of my grandsons has decided he loves the bread I've been making! ♥

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  25. when I see again this post I love your breads , how are you doing Susan ? hugss and love

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    1. Thanks you, Dear Gloria! I am good and so is the family, thank goodness. Just busy with some big projects. Hugs to you! ♥

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