Sourdough Bread

Over the years I have enjoyed several episodes of baking bread. Usually sourdough bread. In each of these episodes there have been some sort of difficulties to overcome. The first winter when we lived on the sailboat and were cruising in the Pacific Northwest, the main problem was getting a good sourdough starter. This was solved when we landed at Ganges Harbor on Saltspring Island. The folks at the small bakery in town generously shared a bit of their starter. Then it was a matter of calibrating the propane galley oven. A couple of oven thermometers later and we had that solved. Then there was the problem of the persistent ambient humidity aboard a boat and its effects on the flour - but it was always worth the trouble. The smell of bread baking filled the boat, and eating bread fresh from the oven with homemade soup was outrageous.

So now we are living on dry land again and it is winter and baking sourdough bread was sounding like a good idea. A few new difficulties of course, but that was part of the attraction. The sourdough starter was solved because we had picked some up at the King Arthur Bakery in Vermont last fall. It was supposedly a direct descendent of a line of yeast from the 1700s. The flour was from the Fairhaven Co-operative Flour Mill in Bellingham, Washington, some of the best. Then there is the matter of the woodstove. The oven heat varies depending on the temperature in the cabin as well as the vigor of the fire in the firebox and maybe depending on what's on the radio. I still have the thermometers from the boat days and they are now hanging in the oven. They don't agree with each other and neither agrees with the one built into the door of the oven. O.K. The instructions say preheat the oven to 350 F. So I throw in a couple of good sized chunks of wood and begin mixing ingredients. After the first rising the temperature is still too low so I throw in a couple of more sticks. Soon it's too hot. In fact it's too hot in the cabin. Open the window. Second rising is coming along nicely. Good time for a nap and of course the fire dies way down. And the cabin is getting cold. Close the window, more wood on the fire. Finally my three thermometers average something like 350 F, in goes the bread. That's when we see the wolf. Not much of a sighting but lots of excitement for us. Then a moose appears, looking anxious and coming from the direction where we saw the wolf going. Lots of drama. O.K. I lost track of the bread and the oven temperature. The smell of toasting bread brought me back to an appropriate focus. A quick rescue and it was cooling on the side rack and Morningstar was making the soup. Supper turned out great. Homemade soup and slightly singed sourdough bread and much talk about wolves and moose.

... Bob Weimer
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