If you have been on the internet lately you have seen a sharp increase in the number of pictures of sourdough bread that are being posted on social media. Friends and relations who are sequestered away during the Covid-19 crisis have been baking up a storm and posting the pictures for all to enjoy (please pass the butter!).

It is time to fess up. I have succumbed to my Sourdough Addiction. It was a thing before we ever heard of Stay-at-Home orders, but if you tell me to stay home and then allow yeast to disappear from the stores along with toilet paper and hand sanitizer, you are setting the stage to kick off my sourdough addiction big time! I have been baking sourdough loaves and teaching sourdough bread baking classes for years, but being an extremely PRACTICAL person, my loaves have been delicious and healthy, but not what you would call beautiful. Let’s be honest. Delicious, Healthy AND Beautiful is a hard combination to beat! I’m not sure I am to “beautiful” yet, but I am definitely making progress in that direction and having fun while I am at it!

Hopefully it won’t be long before we can get back to hosting bread baking classes at Bethlehem Harvest. In the meantime, there are a myriad of sources for info on sourdough bread baking on the internet. Frankly, they all have something different to say, but when you glean from many sources you are creating something that is truly your own. If and when I find that “perfect” source, I will let you know. In the meantime, I will encourage you to try your hand at sourdough. I will post my basic recipe below under the “recipes” tab at bethlehemharvest.com . We can provide you with an active sourdough starter to get you going (check out this link: Carl Griffith’s 1847 Sourdough Starter) and all of the whole grains you might need. We also have Nutrimill Grain Mills in stock if you are ready to start milling your own whole grain flour. Click this link for anything – absolutely anything – you need for home made whole grain bread (including yeast!): bethlehemharvestorders.com I would also be happy to chat with you by e-mail or in the comments section below. Sourdough Bread Baking is not controversial, but it might be contagious – but only in the best ways possible…. It is fun, tasty, and easier than you might think! As addictions go, I think it is one of the best!

May the Lord bless you and your family with health, peace and happiness in the days ahead,

Gail DeGray
bethlehemharvest@gmail.com
281-797-8932 (call or text)

Here are a couple more pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Seeded Sourdough Bread

Almost Whole Grain Sourdough Bread (sometimes a little white flour is a good thing!)