Catching the Wild Yeast: Day 1

One of my favorite things to make from scratch is bread. If you have read at least 3 of my posts, I can bet at least one mentions bread in some way, even if it's not a bread recipe! I love nothing more than a hot and fresh loaf emerging from the oven and just waiting to be smeared with bread or dipped in a spicy oil. But in all my bread making experiences, from the basic (Basic French Bread) to the fancy and time consuming (Cold Day Bread), I have yet to venture into the wilds of wild yeast and sourdough bread.

Wild yeast? What the heck is that? Did you just picture me with a safari hat and net stalking some wild yeast to catch and bring home;) Ok so wild yeast is pretty much everywhere you are. Right now are you are sitting in some wild yeast fields as they float about. But since you can't see it or really touch it, you need something to bring it to you. And that something is water and flour. Yep the same stuff that goes into bread is what is used to capture, feed and grow wild yeast to give you that distinctive tang and flavor of sourdough. Over the next week I'm going to take you on my journey of wild yeast capture, so if you are feeling adventurous and can spare about 5 minutes a day, grab some flour and water and come along!

Day 1: The Experiment Begins

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• glass bowl
• wooden spoon
• plastic wrap

I began my starter on a Sunday as most websites and books indicate the starter needs at least 5 days of feeding before you can make anything with it. This means that by the time my starter is full and ready to go, it will be the weekend and I will have time to fuss around with homemade bread and will not have to worry about slowing the starter or killing it before I can actually use it.

So here goes. I have my flour, I have my lukewarm water and I have a large bowl. I mixed my flour and water together until it looks like a flour paste, put some plastic wrap around the bowl and found it a warm and sunny home in our office. Time to let it eat. Check back tomorrow to see how my wild yeast hunt is going!