Hooray for Microbiology!

Today was day one for developing my starter. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much of anything, because it's only been 24 hours. I mean, really, how much bacteria/yeast can grow in flour and water after just 24 hours? Apparently, quite a bit.



See all those little bubbles of microbiological goodness? No? Well, here's a side-view:



Beautiful, beautiful little bubbles! These bubbles are proof that my little friends are feasting away on the sugar in the flour. How cool is that? It's like my own science experiment! Know what else is cool? The starter has started to GROW - it's now a full inch bigger in the bowl! Super exciting! Tomorrow if/when the bubbles are bigger and the smell is stronger, I'll do my first "feeding", where I discard most of it and feed the rest with a half flour, half water mixture.

I also went out and purchased a cast iron combo cooker, which apparently is the best bread-making device because it allows you to capture steam at the beginning of cooking. The initial steaminess is apparently the secret of great, crusty bread.



It's basically two pans that act as lids for each other - one deep one, and one shallow.



I thought it was a good investment, especially if it makes bread more delicious. And, you know, I guess you can cook other things with it. Like... french toast?

Tomorrow, hopefully, I will have pictures of me feeding my starter. I will feed it regularly for a few days , until a regular "cycle" of rising (like I saw today) and falling is achieved. Then I can make my leaven, and finally, the bread of my dreams. Or at least my first attempt at it.

Let's Start With the Starter

I've managed to master a lot of baking techniques by this point in my life. I can make perfect, springy cupcakes from scratch and top them with homemade icing. I can make chewy, uniformly-shaped cookies that aren't brown on the bottom. I can make brownies using real melted chocolate and melt-in-your mouth coffeecake. But I have never been good at making a wonderful, crackly, springy, moist loaf of bread. And bread is my favorite thing.
I have been given several bread recipes, which gave me plenty of information about how to make bread, but no one ever stopped to explain why. Why are some breads crunchy and others soft? What makes sourdough different from french bread? Why does it matter what flour I use?
Finally, I happened across a bread book from Tartine, the famous bakery in San Francisco. It contained all the information I was looking for: Not only the how but the why. I read it cover to cover. Twice. If you are looking for a book that teaches you everything you ever wanted to know about bread and bread-like things, you need to go buy it. I'm a science-nerd type, and this book goes in depth without being boring.

To Start: The Starter.

Today I started my starter. It was a lot easier than I expected. The starter is basically a mixture of flour and water that you let sit at room temperature for a few days until you get a culture, which is pretty much what you don't want happening to any other food in your kitchen, unless you are already making yogurt. Anyway, it provides the rise, or the leaven, for your bread. Bread tastes about a thousand times better if you use natural leaven, which means you have to make a starter. The bacteria and yeast in the starter come from the flour itself, the baker's hands, and the air. Believe me, these little guys are your friends.
After I develop my starter, I have to feed it every day (I wouldn't want my little friends to go hungry). It's a lot like having a pet, really, only in the end it gives you yummy-tasting bread. Then, after a few more days of feeding, I can begin to make my bread.
Since it will probably be hilarious, I will take pictures. And since I am wildly impatient, I started this blog. Hopefully fresh, warm, wonderful bread is in my future.