Sourdough adds taste and health to a lifestyle
Jul 09, 2024 09:35AM ● By Kerry Angelbuer
Although often thought of as an accompaniment to clam chowder on the coast, sourdough has become popular everywhere. Photo by Jenny Angelbuer
A crusty loaf of sourdough can be a great addition to a summer salad or sandwich. Although sourdough has been used for thousands of years, notably in ancient Egypt, popularity is once again burgeoning as the bread’s health benefits and taste are being touted online, especially during the pandemic. Lisa Petersen, of Bountiful, struggles with sugar level, so when she read that sourdough doesn’t spike insulin like regular bread, she decided to take her bread baking skills to this new level. She makes a whole wheat/white flour mix for her sourdough sandwich bread and loves it. She makes seven loafs at a time and keeps some in the freezer, so she doesn’t bake too often. It is especially good when just out of the oven, when eating half a loaf at once becomes irresistible. Petersen is a little concerned that she has “gained a little weight because the bread is so good,” but that is not going to stop her from making it in the future.
Instead of baker’s yeast added to the bread dough, sourdough uses wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria to leaven the bread. This fermentation process makes the bread prebiotic – it makes the gut happy when you eat it. The process also helps the body absorb more nutrients and decreases gluten that can be problematic for some to digest, and does indeed keep blood sugar more level. Sourdough starts can vary in flavor, but generally the bread has a chewier more complex flavor.
The first step is to obtain a sourdough start from a friend. Social media may aid in connecting with a sourdough aficionado. Starts can also be purchased online. In fact, a start can be spread out, dried and ground for long term storage. Try to get at least a cup of start from the friend, so that baking can start right away. Alternatively, a small amount of start can be fed with equal parts flour and water and allowed to grow on the warmer kitchen counter for a few days before placing it in the refrigerator. The perfect start-storing container is glass with a loose-fitting lid to allow in air for the fermentation process. As you use your start for baking, add more flour and water to keep enough sourdough start on hand for baking or sharing.
You don’t have to make all your sourdough bread look like artisan loafs with brown crusts, but can also make sandwich bread in pans for softer results. “My family all likes it,” said Petersen, who has a husband, son and a hand full of grandchildren living with her. She gets a lot of her sourdough recipes on the King Arthur’s website but will also look up other recipes online by name. She has tried sourdough pancakes, muffins, and blueberry breakfast cake. She really enjoyed the sourdough crackers and most recently tried a sourdough Dutch baby for breakfast that was pretty good. She tries to use it once a week to keep it active. Some online recipes call for yeast, but she looks for the recipes that use the sourdough fermenting process for leavening.
Sourdough starts can also be poured into an olive-oil-coated, cast-iron skillet and sprinkled with salt and Italian seasoning for a delicious focaccia bread. This can be baked on either a grill or the oven. Alternatively, sauce, cheese and pizza toppings can be added to the crust which is then returned to the heat source to bake another 10 minutes. “I like to try new things,” said Petersen.