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...

 Today's Snack Plate:

 Today's Snack Plate:

 Today's Snack Plate Included...

To me, July is fun and fresh and fast. I think of bright colors and beach days and staying up too late. It finally feels like true summer, and lots of people are traveling or at least making time to do something different and fun.  Personally, I took a trip to see some friends from college. It was my second post-grad meet up and the first that required an airplane so I’d say my friends and I are doing a good job keeping in touch with each other as the real world starts knocking on each of our doors. We spent days at the lake, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the slower pace. It was nice to feel like I had a break from having to figure things out and could just take a second to breathe.