Bread Bliss!

Oh, how I wish you were sitting at the kitchen table with me right now, smelling the tantalizing aroma and tasting a slice of warm homemade sourdough bread with a slight smear of real butter. Sister Schubert has NOTHING on me this morning -- well, except several million dollars $$$$. Oh well. Have I told you lately that we both graduated from Charles Henderson High School in Troy, AL, and that she was just a couple of years behind me? It's true. I know her parents and sisters, and we are all very proud of her success.

But, I digress.

It always gives me a huge Little-House-on-the-Prairie feeling when I bake bread, and even more so, when it actually turns out great. Through the inspiration of my Facebook friend, Martha Dunlap -- who also happens to be the former teacher of two of my children -- AND the great pictures and recipes now available through Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at making sourdough starter and giving this whole process a try.

First, I must say that sourdough starter is appropriately named. You need to really keep a tight lid on it because it smells VERY sour. However, what happens inside that container while it ferments makes a feast for the senses possible. Trust me.

Six days ago I began with the yeast, mashed potato flakes, sugar and warm water. I stirred it everyday, then on the 5th day, I fed it with more ingredients and took out a cup of "brew" to begin the bread-making. The picture above shows what I found when I walked into my kitchen this morning.

After a few minutes of kneading (I could just as easily and truthfully use the word NEEDING), the dough was pliable and elastic, so I divided it into halves and put it in greased loaf pans.
An hour or so of rising time later, those loaves looked like this. I drizzled them with melted butter and put them in a 350-degree oven.
Forty minutes later? Voila!
You didn't REALLY think I would wait until it cooled before I sampled it. Now did you?
I can't wait for Steve to get home tonight. He'll get out his favorite honey (the kind that comes in a jar, mind you) and be a happy man.

Are you inspired? Try it. You'll be glad . . . and so will all the folks who live in your house.