My sourdough starter is  showing some signs of life.  After mixing some flour and water in a plastic bowl, and letting it sit for a few days, little bubbles are starting to form in the mix. I also noticed that it is starting to smell a little more like a sourdough. I let the kids take a whiff of the bowl and they crinkled their noses.  It looks like I have caught some wild yeast!

I have been providing a little bit of nourishment each day by replacing about half of the flour and water each day.  I also have been careful to stir it up a little bit each day with a plastic spoon,  Pretty soon I will make a run at making some sourdough bread with this stuff. The bubbles that are forming are still pretty small, so I am not sure if will cause my dough to rise much.

Creating leaven for bread was most likely discovered by accident about 6000 years ago in Egypt.  At this time, the Egyptians did a lot of experimenting with fermenting mixtures of grains and liquids to brew various forms of beverages.  At some point, either on purpose, or by accident, they introduced this leaven into bread making with a positive result. Since that time brad has become known as the "staff of life."  

Despite the dominance the leavened bread has played in Western cuisine, unleavened bread still also remains an important part of our cuisine.  The story of unleavened bread played a central part of the Israelite's Exodus from Egypt.

As I have found in my  sourdough starter  experiment, it has taken a few days to get mine going.  Our temperatures have not been optimal as we are heading into the fall season. It takes a little patience, and even now I am tempted to take a little starter and mix it in with a little dough and try my hand at making some bread. I may wait another day or twoand see if it becomes more active.

 

Click here for Making  SourdoughStart from Scratch - Part I