Photography by Emily Hubble
With the added leisure time brought by social distancing and quarantine procedures, many have taken to their kitchens in search of a new hobby, finding the homemade sourdough bread process an appealing one. The creation of a “starter” to make the bread rise — particular to sourdough and produced by mixing flour and water — makes preparation time lengthy but results in a savory treat. Sourdough loaves have a noticeably tangy flavor, and its air bubbles create a satisfying look and texture. However, finding traditional sourdough bread in public can be difficult, as many businesses are reluctant to spend the time it takes to make it.
It was the shortage of restaurant-made sourdough that piqued her curiosity into the sourdough process, says Makenzie Buell, a student at Texas A&M University. “What started it all was a trip to Panera Bread,” Buell explains. “I’ve really liked sourdough since I was little, but one day, I went to buy a loaf of sourdough bread from Panera, and they didn’t have any. Because of how long it takes to prepare, they told me they only make a very small number of handmade loaves per day.”
Soon after the quarantine began, she decided to give sourdough bread-making a try. Though her first attempt at mixing together a starter “didn’t take,” she says, Buell was persistent. “Flour and water make an active yeast together, and when you keep feeding it, mixing more flour and water in, you keep the same yeast, giving sourdough its sour taste,” says Buell. “For the bread to rise, the starter has to become bubbly, but it won’t if you use the wrong mixture. I learned that the hard way; when they say you need a scale, you need a scale.”
Although the process from starter to loaf takes anywhere from nine to 15 hours, Buell says she believes the time to be well worth it, as it not only produces her favorite snack but has also brought community. “It’s kind of a cultural thing for people to exchange starters — not just for the traditional sourdough but for other bread types and variations,” Buell explains. “You have to keep maintaining your starter, and it keeps growing. Either you get a bigger container, you throw it away, you make sourdough pancakes, or you give it away.”
“I exchanged my sourdough starter with a girl from my church for an Amish bread starter, which allowed me to make a very sweet bread,” Buell continues. “Some people will have whole-grain starters or different percentages of flour types. Mine is 100% bread flour, so you get that really white coloring to it, but a more whole-grain mix will have a browner tint and taste differently.”
As sourdough became a source of community for Buell, it became a source of income for another Texas A&M student, Emily Hubble. “Over quarantine, I got into sourdough starter and making bread,” Hubble says. “I started sharing it with my friends, and they were like ‘This is so good; you could sell it.’ So, I did, and that’s how Em’s Eats came to be.”
While her business’ success has been a pleasant surprise, Hubble says she is more excited about the potential for future plans, allowing her to express her creative side more often. “I love art and music, and I think baking is another means of artistic expression,” Hubble says. “It’s kind of my love language. I like making things for someone, spending time on it, and then watching them enjoy it.”
While Hubble has chosen to perfect her own recipe and Buell continues to try new things, both encourage beginners to see the learning process through, taking the time necessary to reap the full benefits of the sourdough process. “There’s not a right or wrong way to do anything; it’s just about how you like to eat it,” says Buell.
“I feed my starter with flour and water every single day, at least once a day. If you want to use it more often or want a faster rising time, you need to feed it about twice a day. It’s a lot of effort, but when you enjoy the process, it’s worth it.”
To purchase from Em's Eats, visit instagram.com/emily_hubble.
How to care for your starter:
Courtesy of Makenzie Buell
Sourdough Bread: From Starter to Loaf
Courtesy of Makenzie Buell
Here’s how to transform a sourdough starter into a baked bread loaf using a Dutch oven with a lid. This recipe assumes that you have either made or acquired an active starter that’s ready for use.
Ingredients:
- 50 grams starter
- 350 grams filtered water
- 550 grams bread flour
- 10 grams salt
- Cooking spray
- Corn meal
Steps:
- Place a large mixing bowl on the scale, and set the scale to zero.
- Pour 50 grams starter in the bowl.
- Pour in 350 grams filtered water, and whisk it together.
- Add 500 grams bread flour into the bowl.
- Add 10 grams salt.
- Take the bowl off the scale, and mix all ingredients with your hands until the contents reach a consistent, sticky texture.
- Wrap bowl with plastic wrap, and let rest between 8 to 12 hours.
- Grease Dutch oven with cooking spray, and coat the bottom with corn meal. Dust sides with flour.
- Stretch bread into a ball and place in the oven. (Letting it rest for three hours will produce the fluffiest bread, but this length is not mandatory.)
- Set the oven to 400 degrees F and cook with the lid on for 30 to 40 minutes. Then, cook for 20 minutes without the lid.
- Enjoy your new sourdough bread — useful for sandwiches, various toasts, and as a companion to your favorite soup.
