Starting Again... with sourdough

Fall is here and I am so excited to try my hand at sourdough again. Again? you may ask. Alas, it is a sad story. 

I cleaned out my starter for Passover. No big deal, right? I gave some to a friend who doesn't celebrate so I figured I could get a little back. And I was right! My friend happily supplied me with a little container. And then things started to go weird. No matter what I did, the starter was unhappy, partly orange and super sour. Frustration abounded, patience did not. It is possible that neglect started to occur. 

Long story short, it had been contaminated at the friend's house by iron bacteria. I could not resuscitate it and the orange turned to a strangely beautiful color of blue green mold. Was it my doctoring skills or was it just beyond help? I had too many other things to do than worry about it. I bought a new cow, who then had a baby. There was duck drama, calf escaping drama, more duck drama. There were swim lessons. Then Buttercup had a baby. (There was no weeding because I just didn't do any. My pepper plants are still thanking me by producing peppers in their weed protected corner of the garden despite these chilly nights! The tomatoes, however did not enjoy the neglect.)

Needless to say, I wouldn't have the time or desire to nurse the starter even if it had showed any signs of possible recovery. So, out it went. The lovely pottery got washed, dried, left the sit, washed again and left to dry on the counter. 

Why the delay? Well, grapes aren't in season until August/September and I wanted to make the starter again from my own grapes. Alas, this was also not in the cards. Our small grape harvest was so delicious, it was irresistible to the children. The grapes were ripe and the kids were eating them daily until there were no grapes. Now, our cultivated grapes come in a bit earlier than wild grapes (or so I have been told) so I began asking around. No luck. I didn't let it bother me yet, supposedly, I had at least a few weeks before there were not any kind of grape in our zone. And I pray about it. And once again, God provided. 

I stopped at a small local granola and coffee chop. During the summer, they have this teeny-tiny produce section with things grown on the farm organically, with a bunch of cool animals. The rpoduce shop was COMPLETELY empty except for two huge bunches of grapes sitting on a woven platter. It was like a scene right our of Under the Tuscan Sun. I checked with the woman who had just picked them - no, they had never been sprayed, no they hadn't been washed since she picked them. I promptly bought all 3 pounds of them and brought them home... and got busy with preparing for and then observing the Sabbath the next day and then being busy the following day... and a week later, there the grapes sat, in a plain brown bag waiting. There were still fresh and plump, covered in wild yeast. Ten days from picking them before they went into a new batch of yeast water. But what a batch of yeast water it became!

Did I use the same recipe as before? Yep. (I got it from this cookbook.) 

Did I use my own honey? Oh yeah. (I still haven't harvested honey this year but this year's bees are another amazing story for another time.) 

Did I finally get a new starter up and running? Yep.

Was I smart enough to freeze half the grapes so I can make a new batch of stater next spring? Yep. 

Am I going to try making bread this year? YES! Okay, that is the plan. The first thing I made were scones. Then I made some hamburger rolls. The English muffin dough is in the mixer, waiting for the morrow. Now I am thinking about bread but still feel a little intimidating. I am psyching myself up to it. Either way, it is growing so now I need to start baking something. I may not be a rock star sourdough baker yet but I am a rock star yeast water maker and starter starter. Gotta start somewhere baby! 

IT'S ALIVE!!! Muahahaha!