In April 2020, when the seriousness of Covid became a reality here in Canada, I decided to learn how to make bread. More specifically, sourdough. There was a yeast shortage and a toilet paper shortage, and while one doesn’t have to do with the other, I felt it was a good time to put my quarantining to good use. Not that being in quarantine was a bad thing for me. I didn’t really notice too much of a difference, as I really liked my alone time and am quite comfortable with no guests.

I looked up a whole bunch of websites on how to make sourdough starter.

A few of my favourites are: King Arthur Flour, Nourished Kitchen, and The Clever Carrot.

They all had things in common. It took time. You had to measure. You had to pay attention. These were skills in the kitchen that I had yet to develop but I had my sister to bounce my questions and show results, and I felt we were in it together.

While these were all challenges for me, I had a good reality check. I wasn’t sick. I was at home, and what else did I have but time? So I tried.

I didn’t have any fancy gadgetry, just bowls, and memories of my grandfather making bread when I was a child. The initial dough making seemed pretty standard. add ingredients, mix, knead, proof. I didn’t understand the concepts of technique, leaven, and how to tell the dough was proofed enough just yet.

I probably don’t remember too well, but it seemed to me that grandpa greased the bowl with either crisco or butter, and covered the dough with a warm towel. It wasn’t very warm in the house in the winte or the spring as we keep it at 21C, so I thought, well, why don’t I do a double boiler with two bowls – the bottom one I put in warm water, and the metal bowl kept the dough warm.

So I guess that made it a double bowler.

It seemed to work. The dough rose fairly well. It didn’t have any hard crust on it, you know, as in the air dried it out. What I don’t think I realized or remembered is that grandpa was not making sourdough, but regular bread. That didn’t click in til later. Months later.

The first sourdough I made was over proofed. It fell in the oven and I was so disheartened I didn’t take a picture of it but my kids and husband said it still tasted good.

Bless their hearts.