Don't Be Such a Sour Puss

I'm not really sure who first came up with the idea of making sour-dough bread. I picture someone in period dress from centuries ago -- read: drab -- who accidentally let some slurry of water and flour ferment. Why they had a slurry of water and flour sitting around, however, would be the question that stumps me. Maybe they had been hanging wallpaper and forgot about it? There is, after all, a fine line between glue and food. Ick.

Well, I've been a bread baker for over a decade, and have recently morphed into a bagel baker -- I was intrigued by the boil-before-you-bake thang. The bagels have turned out decently, although I haven't gotten terribly fancy yet. Mine are not the correct Montreal bagels, but rather a slight departure from all the bagel recipes I researched online. I'm rarely content to stick to a recipe the way it comes. I have an unfortunate need to make everything my own.

Some people advocate wrapping the long pieces of dough around your hand and fastening them together. Others swear by piercing a round ball of dough with your fingers to make the hole. I've tried both, and I'm leaning a little towards the latter, but the jury is still out. The latest incarnation -- whole wheat with Ontario honey -- involved a little cornmeal on the outside, and were very well received by my two-year-old neighbour, Caleb.

But on to the sour.

I decided to make my own slurry (of course using whole grain flour) and left it to perch atop my refrigerator. Gradually, the smell changed from pasty to sour. Ahah! So this is that infamous sourdough starter I've heard so much about. No one would want to hang wall-paper with this brew. It took less than the recommended 3 to 5 days -- closer to 2.5 days, actually. I made a nice elastic dough using 1/2 cup of the starter, a few cups of whole grain flour, and 1 cup of water. I describe that ideal ratios of flour and water result in a dough that feels smooth, not sticky, and a little clammy. The wacky thing about sour dough is that it has to rise for 12 hours, then for another 6 hours before you bake it. Totally not instant gratification. I think we've been rising for about 1 hour. Not even. Sigh ... I'm not exactly what you would call patient.