A loaf of bread…
Life is not like a box of chocolates. It’s like a loaf of sourdough bread…
So far this year, I have purchased very little for Christmas. In years past, I would have most of it accomplished by now. I always saved a little room for last-minute requests from my kids. Steve and I loved to buy stocking stuffers on Christmas Eve and watch the hustle and bustle of the holiday.
One of Steve’s favorite things to do is buy our usual groceries on Black Friday. He never puts himself in harm's way over a Nintendo or a huge-screen TV at an unbelievable price; instead, he loves to wander around Walmart with a cart and the biggest pack of Charmin available. Then he likes to park near the checkout and just watch. (People are fascinating.)
I have several close friends. We don’t see each other very often, but we text and call regularly. We don’t exchange gifts at Christmas; instead, we occasionally find something that is just perfect for each other and pick it up throughout the year—small tokens of our attention to detail. Tokens that say, “I know you collect bees,” or “I remembered you were looking for one of these.” Little things that show even though we didn’t talk for a month, I was present when we last spoke.
“Friends are gifts we give ourselves,” Robert Louis Stevenson stated. I believe Stevenson was partially correct. People come into our lives for a reason, and I believe they are divinely sent. At some point, they prayed to be a blessing to someone, and their experiences in life could be knowledge passed on to a friend. Friends are gifts from God, and in turn, we nurture those relationships and respect those friendships. That is how we give them to ourselves, or keep them as friends.
For many years, I baked bread for Thanksgiving and Christmas week. My schedule doesn’t allow for much baking now, but I still love it. I made sourdough bread and cheese spread for my friends, so we didn’t need to buy gifts for each other.
Much like friendships, sourdough bread has to be tended to and planned ahead. There’s a schedule to follow for each batch of bread. Feed the starter the morning of the day before you want to bake. Don’t stir it with a metal utensil; use wood or plastic. That evening, mix up the dough. Bread dough has to rise overnight for the first rise. Then, the next morning, knead, divide, and watch it rise again. There is a 4 to 5-hour window here, so a quick errand is okay, but losing track of time can lead to dough spilling over the pan or becoming too fluffy to hold together! UGH. (I’ve done that more than once!) Then bake for 30 to 45 minutes and let it cool. There needs to be time to cool and wrap, but it still needs to be delivered! Fresh bread is best, of course.
For good sourdough bread, the starter needs to be mature. I like to use a starter that has been fed at least twice. After the initial starter is mixed and bubbles on the counter for several days, it needs to be fed every 3 to 5 days. At that point, a cup is removed from the jar and can either be given away or used to bake bread. Sometimes, I would just throw that cup out. More than once, I have forgotten to “feed” the sourdough starter. I learned that I could add a little extra (a new bit of yeast), and my starter would bubble and thrive again.
Thank you to my friends who feed me, tend to me, and help me rise! Thank you for adding extra to get me going when I need it! Thank you for overlooking how long it’s been since I baked bread for the holidays. And thank you, Lord, for sending my people my way!
Enjoy!
Homemade Sourdough Bread (Recipe from my sister-in-law)
Starter:
3 Tbsp instant potato flakes
¾ c granulated sugar
1 c warm water
Stir well with a wood or plastic spoon. Allow to sit on the counter, lightly covered until evening. Use 1 cup for bread or put it in the fridge and feed it every 3-5 days. Allow to sit all day at room temperature before taking out 1 cup and placing extra back in the fridge. (If the mixture does not bubble, add one packet of instant yeast to warm water. Dissolve and add to starter to resuscitate 😀)
For bread:
¼ c granulated sugar
½ c olive oil (or your choice of oil)
1 tsp salt
1.5 c warm water
1 c starter
6 c bread flour (King Arthur is my top pick)
Mix the first 5 ingredients together well. Add 3 cups of flour and mix well. Add the last 3 cups of flour and mix well. Dump out dough into a well-oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area of the kitchen to rise overnight. Early the next morning, punch down the dough. Knead on a floured surface and divide into 3 loaves. Shape and place into a well-oiled loaf pan. Lightly brush tops with oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm place for 4-5 hours and rise. (Dough should almost double in size.) Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
