Connecting with Hearth, Home and History

Today is National Sourdough Bread day.  I’ve been making Sourdough bread for a few years now, following the Tartine Bread Book recipe for country bread.  It’s a basic boule using sourdough starter and I have scheduled it so I can start the levain one morning and bake the next.  In between, there is a lot of waiting and one pretty intense period of 4 to 5 hours that takes place in the evening, after work and before going to bed.  In between baking boules there is the ritual of feeding the starter to keep it alive and fermenting.  In fairness, I should admit I have killed more than a few starters over the years and have had to start anew.  All of this has become somewhat of a meditation for me.  It requires thought and attention and works best when the mind is free of other thoughts.  Judging from all the baked goods I am seeing on social media and the dearth of flour on supermarket shelves, it seems others feel the same.  Plus, it’s something we can do and share with others.  I have left boules and jars of starter (not always together)  on doorsteps over the last few weeks and I know a lot of you have as well.  Bread also invokes hearth and home and connects us to our history and perhaps that is why it has become so important these last few weeks.  It’s good that on this day, during this time, it is National Sourdough Bread day.  Take care of yourselves and each other.