The Heron's Nest

After feeding the starter for the first time, I wasn’t expecting much to have happened when I checked it the next morning. Which was good, because indeed, nothing happened lol. So I fed it again that morning and then once more about 12 hours later, in the evening. Each time, I discarded some of the starter and then fed it equal parts flour and warm water. For example, the first time I fed it, I used 15g of starter, 15g of warm water, and 15g of flour, bringing the total to 45g. The next time, I removed 25g, leaving 20g of starter in the jar, and then added 20g each of water and flour. This kept the starter at a manageable amount while giving it plenty of fresh food to get going again. To my surprise, the starter started bubbling and doubling in size after that second feeding. I continued that same process to slowly increase the amount of starter in the jar and to be sure that the starter was “healthy” before I planned to bake.  Now, I’ve fed it one final time before I hopefully hav...

  Starting about two years ago, my family decided to be more mindful about the ingredients in our food. Around the same time, my mom decided to start making bread for the family instead of buying it. Inspired by my sister-in-law, who had already mastered the craft and gave us our first bit of sourdough starter, it quickly became my mom’s Sunday ritual. One that the whole family (and plenty of friends) got to enjoy. Over the last few months, the loaves started coming a little less often as life got busier. Coincidentally, I have Sundays off from work and am usually looking for something to do, so I thought it might be a good time to finally learn how to make sourdough myself. Not only would it be nice to help keep the family tradition going, but it also feels like a fun new life skill to learn and carry with me. Today, my mom and I decided it was time to bring the starter back to life and get it ready for baking again. Since I’m hoping to make my first loaf soon, I thought I’d docum...