Sourdough instructions

There are probably better ways, but this is what I've learned so far.

Sourdough Starter Maintenance

Rule #1 - don't use metal or metallic containers.  Stick to glass or plastic jars /bowls and use spatulas for all of the steps below.  Metal can kill the yeast.

The starter container must be kept in the fridge with the lid only loosely on (so that pressure won't build).

Before using the starter, bring it out of the fridge and let it raise up to room temperature (so wait an hour, although you could wait a few hours and it won't be a problem).  If you change your mind, you can always just put the lid back on (loosely, of course).

Note that the starter can technically last up to 14 days in the fridge but I've never left it that long and I've seen posts that say you should "refresh" it if you've left it more than 10 days.

To refresh, pull 100 g out and throw it away, mix 50g flour and 50g water.  Leave it at room temperature for a few hours before putting it back in the fridge.

Stage #1 - Making the Sponge

This is the first stage of the sourdough. You're going to mix some flour and water together with some of the starter to create something we call "sponge".

To prepare, you'll need:

• 300g flour
• 300g water
• 1 tsp salt
• 100g starter

I always use a weigh scale to measure everything.

Mix it all together in a medium non-reactive bowl (I use a glass bowl that has a plastic lid).  Then let it sit out for a number of hours to rise at room temperature.  You're aiming for about double the size before moving to the next step but this is where I usually just wait for 2-4 hours and then put it in the fridge overnight.

Don't forget to feed the starter!

Now that you've taken 100 g out of the starter, you need to replace it.  Add 50g of flour and 50g of water back to the starter and let it sit out for an hour or two to start activating.

Stage #2 - Make the Dough

This is typically the day after you've made the sponge.

Pull the sponge out of the fridge and bring it back up to room temperature (i.e. leave it on the counter for an hour or two).

Take out a large non-reactive bowl (I again use a glass bowl that has a plastic lid).  Put a but of canola oil in the bottom (about 2 tbsp) and spread it around the bowl.

Set aside about 400 ml of warm water in a pourable measuring cup or similar.

Now take another larger non-reactive bowl and add:

• 800g flour
• 2 tsp salt
• the sponge

Mix together as best you can, breaking apart the sponge so that the moisture can absorb the flour where possible. Start introducing the water about 100 ml and a time and continue mixing until all the flour is incorporated.  You may not use all the water or you may need a bit more.  This seems to vary a bit.  When you're done, the dough should still be a bit wet.  You may want to turn it out onto a floured counter to keep kneading it, but you don't have to (and it makes a bit of a clean up mess).

Put the dough into the oiled bowl.

Soak a kitchen towel, wring all the water out of it and lay it across the top of the bowl.

Now, clean up the dishes before the dough dries.  I use hot water and my fingers as much as possible since dough is difficult to get off of dish clothes and especially difficult to get out of kitchen cleaning brushes.

(You could start another sponge now for tomorrow if you want to keep making bread each day!)

The dough should rise to be about double it's size. 

At this point, split the dough in 2 as you'll be making two loaves.  Knead them down into 2 balls, you don't have to spend too long on this, but try to get the air out. 

Now put the balls into 2 proofing baskets or bowls that will allow them to grow a bit (up to double the size).

Put these 2 bowls into the fridge, wet the towel and wring it out again and put it back over the bowls to proof over night.

Clean up again as soon as possible.

Stage #3 - Bake Bread

The next day, pull the bowls out of the fridge and let them rise up to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 425C.  Put a pan with water at the bottom of the oven.

Get out 2 baking pans with parchment or silpat mats.  When ready to bake, flip the dough into the mats, then 'score' the bread so that it has room to expand in the oven.  A 'score' is a set of deep cuts which could be an 'X' across the bread, or could be 4 cuts to make a 'square shaped' pattern.  Cut at least an inch into the loaf.

Put the pans in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until golden - the bread will be sound hollow when tapped.

And that's all!  Let it rest and enjoy!

The Long Haul

For most people Friday is typically a work day.  Unfortunately for me, I took a vacation day today.

Now normally this is a good thing, but you have to realize that it means I have to survive three days without being able to sneak hot dogs at work...  I think I'm going to have to try to sneak some at home.  

But how?  We don't have any hot dogs in the freezer?  I can't just walk over to the neighbour's house and invite myself to a hot dog lunch, especially under the watchful eye of Elphaba...

It sounds like I'll have to upgrade to stealth mode.

My first opportunity arose just before 10 on Friday.  My wife had to take our daughter to her first day of pre-school.  Great, that gives me about an hour to find some hot dogs to scarf down.

I woke our youngest son up during his supposed "nap time" and raced outside... drat!  My wife took the car with the baby seat.  

Alright... the Chariot it is.  I got the little guy bundled up and kicked it into high gear.  I jogged for 20 minutes across to the local shopping complex.  While gasping for air and trying to recover my footing (funny, I thought this diet was supposed to give me more energy), I bought a 12 pack of hotdogs:

I ate them in the parking lot.  All twelve.  Cold.

I also happened to puke most of them up on my jog back home.  Urrghh....

The next opportunity came in the evening.  We were walking around the Farmer's market when I noticed a particularly awesome vendor.  I guided Amber to the other side of the market and then excused myself to the bathroom.

These hot dogs were particularly Vegan due to the unusual vegan coating:

Way to stick to the diet plan, Mike.

I ate 6.

Saturday came and went with no chance to escape.

I snuck upstairs every half hour to floss my teeth:

Fast forward to Sunday.  I'm feeling rather weak after a full day of the Vegan Challenge.

I found an excuse to take the kids over to Costco and pick up a few groceries when I noticed:

One of the menu options seemed to be calling to me.

I looked at the kids and tried to decide if they needed something to eat:

Aaaahhh!!

This vegan thing looks like it's having some unintended side effects.

Excuse me, I'll have 3 hot dogs please.  Kids, don't tell your mother.

Breakfast

A solid breakfast is the key to a successful day.

With bacon, eggs and even milk out of the picture, I've been searching for something that fills me up and puts me on the right foot for the rest of the day.

There are plenty of decent vegan cereals but my milk options are pretty limited:

Almond milk. Meh.

Soy milk. Double-Meh.

Hemp milk, hmmmmm....

Hmm.... maybe not...

I figure if I'm going to taste farmer's fields and grass when I'm eating my cereal I may as well go all out:

Breakfast of champions. You can really taste the diesel.

Thought twice about finding hot dogs today as there were some strange winged creatures flying outside the window...

Luckily I had the foresight to sneak in some afternoon snacks:

Surveillance

Phew, I managed to get out of the house today while keeping to Vegan challenge.

Cereal, soy milk, espresso. So far, so good.

Well, the espresso at least. Thankfully I roast my own beans.

I managed to suppress my Tim Horton's cravings and made it to work for my first meeting on time.

Unfortunately, all I could think about during the meeting was hot dogs. Let's just say we kicked off a new project code named "Hot Wieners".

It wasn't good.

At this point I was starving so I left the meeting early and zipped over to the nearest hot dog vendor. I was going to just get a hot dog (hey, I'm pretty sure there isn't any meat in these things anyway) but I recalled that French Fries are vegan, so I loaded up on those too.

My wife would be proud.

Strangely, after I started munching down on my vegan meal, I felt like someone was watching over my shoulder.

My wife couldn't be here... could she?

Oh well, I've shaken off the feeling, but I better be careful at work.

One never knows who is watching!

Rocky Start

Well.... day one is here and I've fallen off the band wagon.

Although, I suppose this means I never really got on it in the first place.

I had a full on vegan breakfast under the watchful eye of my wife. Cereal and hemp milk. Mmmmm.... yummy... er, uh, yeah, yummy...

I almost made it to work before I re-directed to Tim Horton's and grabbed a coffee without milk. Good job, Mike.

I may have also had a sausage breakfast sandwich...

I asked the guy behind the counter if it was Vegan and he shrugged his shoulders. Good enough for me.

Lunch was a bit better. I took a bagel with homemade hummous and cucumber. Too bad I threw it in the garbage and ate this:

I'm pretty sure that mustard is Vegan. Down the hatch.

Dinner was at home with the kids back under the Eye of Sauron. It was a rather healthy Vegan burrito but I didn't care for the potatoes....

Well, it was a rocky start but I'm sure I'll pick up the pace tomorrow.

High five, Mike.

For all those days I can't resist

Some days it's hard to stay Vegan. Really hard.

Rather than let it get me down or stick to my commitments I go to the Main Dish in Bridgeland and indulge my cravings.

But don't worry. I still feel guilty and isn't that the point?