Alan’s prowess with food experiments is a continuing source of good food for his roommates, one of whom cannot have any wheat flour. By phone Alan told me that he made sourdough starter and what’s entailed in the process. I followed along with great interest.
Alan said. “What else can I make during Covid? I can’t go out.”
Eventually the sourdough was ready to use after a week of fermenting. I was treated to these photos of Alan’s Sourdough loaf of bread and narration.
ALAN: Just out of the oven. Looks so pretty. WEIGHS SO MUCH! I’m trying one more, more elaborate gluten-free bread. If it doesn’t work, I’m never trying it again. I’ll throw the damn starter down the drain!
ME: So… it looks gorgeous!
ALAN: Yes, pretty. Tastes wonderful too. But you have to fight with every bite.
ME: What flour did u use?
ALAN: Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1. The sourdough starter is Os Red Mill organic brown rice flour. There are many other brands and kinds, but these are the supposedly easiest to work with. I gather mastering sourdough requires more time or patience than I possess.
Look up websites about how to make a starter. They are all complicated, and few are alike. One apparently has to learn on their own and intuit the nuances.
ME: So the bread tastes good, but is chewy?
ALAN: The chewy part is good as well as the taste. It’s the crust and the general sense that the interior is composed of lead of neutronium*! OK, exaggeration.
ME: I commend you on your effort. Looked up sourdough starter making and realized it would be too difficult for me to mess with here.
Thanks! Can I put it on my blog?
ALAN: Absolutely delicious! But you could build a house with it as bricks. Yes, warn your readers!
*Neutronium is a hypothetical substance composed purely of neutrons. The word was coined by scientist Andreas von Antropoff in 1926 for the hypothetical “element of atomic number zero” that he placed at the head of the periodic table.
FYI: Bob’s Red Mill Site referral
“Nutritional Information & Ingredients Replace the Flour, not Your Recipe.™ Bob’s™ has created a special 1-to-1 blend of gluten free flours, starches and xanthan gum, making it easy to transform traditional cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins and pancakes into gluten free treats. This flour is designed for quick breads and not recommended for use in yeast recipes. If you are looking to bake yeast breads or cinnamon rolls, our Gluten Free All Purpose Flour will do the trick.” ~ Retrieved 2-20-2021
It’s going to warm up! I look forward to better temps and having a working stove and oven again to cook. 😁
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen.
Thanks to Alan in Oregon for his inspirational cooking. Now, I am hungry!
Stay safe.
Peace
Kunstkitchen's Blog 
Wheat is…problematic. I make many things; noodles, cookies, scones with spelt. So expensive yet digestible.
That’s great!
Impressive effort. I make all our bread (usually sourdough), and can use wheat flour.
Sourdough is a lovely bread. I was impressed! I’d probably like to take a bread making class someday.
There are a lot of great bread websites. I use breadtopia.com a lot.