Yep there really is a Sourdough September. Its a nice alliteration as well as the fact that we are in a Pandemic and sourdough has caught on like uh.. fly traps. (I cannot say wildfires.. too close to home )But before I go any further..REST IN PEACE RBG.. I am attaching the very important ways the woman has changed the lives of all women in America. Of course I am also including the quote:

“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask our brethen is that they take their feet off our necks. ”

Yes Ruth I will fight for gender equality,social justice and environmental justice and plain ol human decency

.8 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court Rulings to Know About | Teen Vogue

Now back to Sourdough September. I hosted my first sourdough class here at the Highlands Bread Shoppe. My friend Sarah who runs Wellstone Center in the Redwoods came with her daughters: Coco and Anais ( 6 and 4 year old) and 2 2o- something- year -old interns who are getting a chance to pursue their writing while earning their keep by doing the jobs required on this beautiful piece of land.. One of their gigs is to learn to bake bread! We debated the likes of wet v dry starters, slap and fold methods v stretch and fold methods, when to score bread, how long to let dough sit, how to get dough to have a more sour flavor, How do you get a decent crust? Playing “dough ” can go on for hours.There are just 4 ingredients: flour, salt, water and starter and there is the intangible 5th ingredient which I call Time and Temperature which is at the discretion of the baker to play with.

Time: From start to Finish. one of my breads takes about 16 hours but active time for my hands on time is about 1 hour. TEMP: well that is adjusting to the temp of the day and to the water you use.. If its a particularly hot day you got to do everything you can to slow down the “runaway bread” meaning the bread wants to hurry up and ferment too fast.. and similarly if its a cold day.. you got to give the dough some added warmth created by steam or making a simulated steam box.. I heat up a cup of water in the microwave and then let the dough sit in a warmed up box if you will.. and that gives the dough the extra oomph to lift up.. There is also flavor.. I will just point you to this marvelous language that Michael Kalanty devised that more precisely describe the flavors of bread other than the omnipresent word: DELICIOUS..Aroma and Flavor Notes for Bread by Michael Kalanty. iTS JUST PLAIN FUN TO give bread the added credit…. I mean we talk about certain fragrances of wine and coffee WHY NOT BREAD?? One of the flours I am using this month is called RED BUG NOUVEAU grown and milled in Capay Valley in Yolo county. It is described as malty and earthy undertones with good gluten strength(it is also named after the 60 year old Combine housed at the Mill)

I have to give a shout out to the great writer Michael Pollan. Nobody but nobody writes as perfectly as Michael does on the science as well as the art of bread making in his chapter called The Great White Loaf in his book COOKED. He nails it when he describes the words: ELASTICITY AND EXTENSIBILITY.. 2 PROPERTIES you gotta have in your dough.. going further.. its the proteins Glutenin and Giandin that make up Gluten.. the glue that holds the dough together I’ll let you all chew on that for awhile..and finally I leave the last word to these two young men who started their own bakery in their home and then bike it to their customers. Congratulations boys! https://vimeo.com/bakersdozendocs/ferment

highlands bakery shoppe breads this month: meyer lemon rosemary, super seeded multi grain (pumpkin, sunflower, millet, sesame) jewish dill rye. eat.good.bread.love.anina