My Saturday Sourdough streamlines bread making so that you can enjoy the bread of your dreams with the least possible effort and the fewest ingredients. I tested more than two dozen loaves to achieve this delicious perfection.
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Sourdough starter is easy, but it takes a week of daily feedings to develop a healthy and robust culture. Luckily, those feeding only takes a few minutes each day. I like to attend to mine while brewing my morning coffee.
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My family loves cinnamon rolls and kept putting in the requests. “Could they be bigger?”, “Can you add more cinnamon?”, “Could they have more frosting?” There is no way to know how many times I modified this recipe before it got the stamp of perfection from my family. Now they just ask “Can you make more?” I like that kind of question.
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Rations of Hope Bread is a story of survival. In 2001, James “Lubo” Mijak, a “Lost Boy of Sudan” and refugee, resettled as a U.S. citizen in Charlotte, North Carolina. He and his companions survived for years with a simple ration of flour, yeast, salt, oil, and beans. Once in Charlotte, that experience spurred an endeavor called the Raising South Sudan Project, which feeds and educates over 800 boys and girls daily. In 2016, my friend Phillips asked me to capture the “Rations of Hope” bread in a way that empowers others to share the story through baking.
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Do you love naan (na’an)? When Mark and I visited Bangalore (Bengaluru), India, in 2009, we enjoyed all kinds of local fare, but one experience was particularly memorable. While taking in the delicious aromas at one of the local restaurants, I was mesmerized by the skill with which the cook fearlessly slapped the dough up against the blazing hot inner wall of a tandoor oven. Eventually, our eyes met, and he motioned for me to come around into the kitchen for a closer look. After a couple of batches, he invited me to give it a try, but I must admit that my sense of adventure failed me as I gazed into that raging fire. Instead, I learned to make it at home in my comfortable kitchen!
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In the Fall of 2015, Mark and I toured Ireland with a group of friends and enjoyed a baking lesson for Traditional Irish Soda Bread at Donegal Manor. Sian Breslin was our delightful instructor. Sian uses buttermilk, but I like to use a mixture of milk and yogurt. Also, the flour here in the States has more gluten than that in Ireland, so cornstarch helps soften it. Finally, I decided to go the old-fashioned route of baking it in a Dutch oven, similar to the traditional bastible, but without a handle for hanging it over the fire.
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