Today I share my first bite of food writing. Originally written for The History Girls, A Slice Of Life evolved into an opinion piece and doesn’t truly fit their remit any more.

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2015 is soon developing a focus on traditional bread making skills. Before January was out The History Girls had enquiries for an Anglo Saxon loaf, a workshop on sour dough techniques and plans are even afoot for an exciting collaboration with Love Bread CIC in Brighouse. Then, lo and behold, Radio 4’s The Food Programme met with growers working to resurrect some near lost variations of wheat.

As some of you know I work for a local baker, selling his hand made bread twice a week on the market. It is a fantastic opportunity for chatting with people about their concerns and as you might expect, the issue of wheat and it’s place in our diet is a regular topic. Is it the modern breeding of wheat triggering the intolerance that so many people describe –  or the Chorleywood bread process upsetting our constitutions? Do these intolerances exist or is wheat simply the newest ingredient to be vilified by the diet industry? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but the recent Food Programme episode seemed to confirm my suspicions that modern production demands take precedence over variety and possibly nutrition. Where once we consumed a small amount of a large number of different and locally native grains, we now have access to a vast quantity of only a few, globally farmed forms of wheat. Then there is the previously mentioned Chorleywood process – producing a loaf which couldn’t be further from the often home baked bread we consumed just a hundred years ago.

Throughout history bread has provided a crucial source of carbohydrate and calories. During World War Two it was the one food stuff to never go on ration as it was deemed so important to both diet and morale. Seventy years on and some in the dieting industry portray it as fattening and unhealthy. I truly feel that instead of instructing people to omit a whole food group from their plates, we should be campaigning for better access to real bread made with a diverse range of grains.

There is nothing quite so satisfying as hand made bread, or as tasty as a sourdough loaf. It is one of the oldest methods for producing leavened bread and there is something archaic about the chewy, tangy flavour. I encourage every one to give it a go and try this ancient flavour for themselves. Whilst making a starter is relatively simple, the various stages can be intimidating so this is the first in a series of posts aimed at guiding bakers through the steps of making their own sourdough loaf.

Sourdough starter

Stage One

250g strong white bread flour

250g flour of choice. Try ancient wheat varieties such as spelt, emmer and einkhorn, or wheat free rye and barley.

130ml water (room temperature)

Whisk the flours and water together in a large bowl or jug. There is some belief that the chlorine in tap water can prevent the natural growth of bacteria required for a ‘sour’ starter so I use bottled mineral water. Leave, covered with a teatowel, for 3 days.

Stage Two

125g flour
85ml water

After three days the mixture should have developed a sweet smell and you should be able to see bubbles forming. Throw away half the mix and ‘feed’ it with the extra flour and water. Cover and leave for another two days.

In 5 days time we will see how your starter should be looking and take the next step towards home made sourdough.