Sourdough Hacks

January 2021

Homemade sourdough is one of my all time favourite things to eat.  Nothing beats that slightly chewy, tangy, still warm from the oven first slice.  Then later on, toasted, it's the perfect vehicle for all sorts of toppings - simply slathered in marmite (another favourite of mine), generously loaded with Bloody Mary inspired smashed avo and a fried egg... I'm salivating just thinking of the options.

Anyway, it can prove (excuse the pun) tricky to make a good loaf as the mercury barely creeps above 0 degrees over winter.  There just isn't the warmth to excite the starter, and getting a good rise during the proving stage takes forever.  

One very chilly winter evening, I spontaneously decided to make a loaf but realised I needed to generate some heat.  I fed my starter, covered it with cling film, set the oven to 30 degrees C, and put my starter in for an hour or so.  Already it looked excited enough to make the dough and it sat next to me proving whilst I read by the fire for the evening.  A couple of hours later, I was going to bed and the fire had gone out, but the dough still needed several hours more rising time.  Sacrificing my hot water bottle, I made a 'parcel' from a towel which contained my bowl of dough sitting on top of my hot water  bottle.  It seemed my dough enjoyed it's cosy night - in the morning, I discovered on of the best rises I've ever had and the baked loaf was one of my most successful.  I'll definitely be sacrificing my hot water bottle for bread making again!