I did not get into sourdough baking along with everyone else during the pandemic lockdowns. Instead, in true fashion, I am coming to this a few years late.

The sourdough from the bakery that comes to our farmer’s market is good bread but not a sour as I like my sourdough, and at some point this summer I decided I should learn how to make my own. I figured if I started practicing in the winter I’d probably be in pretty good shape for tomato season 2024.

So, for Christmas I asked for and received a sourdough kit from King Arthur, that came with some of their starter and a crock to keep it in. Knowing it had the starter in it, I opened it almost right away when it arrived and then followed their instructions to wake up the starter and feed it for a few days.

A couple of days before Christmas, I made my first loaf. I followed a recipe that came with the kit, which was billed as a good recipe for beginners. It came out fine. It was pretty good bread but it wasn’t the more rustic sourdough vibe I’m going for. But it was good for a confidence boost and some nearly-instant gratification.

After that, I had some questions and started looking around for books. I pretty quickly landed on The Perfect Loaf. I was able to peruse a surprisingly long chunk of it as an ebook sample, and saw that it starts out with a tutorial-style recipe that walks you through all the steps with just enough explanation for the moment. So, I purchased a copy of the ebook and embarked on my first attempt with the tutorial.

I really appreciated the extra explanations of the tutorial. There are several places where the author describes a couple of things that might be happening with your dough, how to address it right now, and what to change next time. For example, the flour I have on hand at the moment has a lower protein content than is called for, which I think led to the more flat shape of my loaf. So next time, I’m going to experiment with doing some extra stretches and folds (basically kneading) to see if that helps. I also appreciated the encouragement to take notes as I went along, and I have a couple of other things to pay closer attention to next time as well.

In the meantime, it was still a stunning success! I’m very happy with the crust and the interior texture. It’s great fresh and toasted (one of my favorite snacks is toasted sourdough with butter), and I’m already looking forward to making another loaf.