Saturday 21 October 2017

Another great sourdough workshop

We held our second last Simple Living Toowoomba workshop for the year today and once again Chris from Gully Grove presented a very interesting and informative sourdough workshop. Chris made her Honey and Sunflower Loaf which featured in a recent blog post.




Heavy rain was predicted for today but that didn't seem to deter anyone and the workshop was well attended despite the damp conditions.  As usual Chris was very organised and had already been up early to cook a very delicious loaf for us all to sample.



Then she set to explaining the process of feeding the starter and how to know when it was ready to use....


...as she had been feeding her starter, Griffin, for a couple of days prior to the workshop so that those who wanted to could take a bottle of it home to cook their own loaf. Despite the cold day, Griffin looked very happy and was bubbling away.


Chris then added her flour etc. to the starter and started kneading until the dough was ready to form into a ball and be put aside to rise. 


Then the dough was shaped and put into a warm oven for an hour to rise for the second time. When ready it came out of the oven, the scoring was done, the oven was turned on again and the loaf went back in to bake...


...and voila! We had a fresh from the oven loaf to share around. This was the first cooking workshop we have had in the new venue so nobody was sure what the oven was like but Chris did a great job. 

She has a full tutorial of how she makes her sourdough on her blog in the post 'The' Sourdough Tutorial so do check it out if you are keen to make a loaf. I daresay Chris will be doing a sourdough post in the near future so keep an eye on her blog so you don't miss it. 

I know a lot of people are gluten intolerant these days and if you would still like to make sourdough then check out The Art of Gluten-Free Sourdough Baking and there is also a free eBook available too Gluten-Free Sourdough Baking. If you look on that page there are other free eBooks for download as well on fermentation and cheesemaking as well as another one on sourdough. If you are keen on cooking muffins, focaccia, waffles etc. there are 145 Sourdough Recipes to tempt you as well as those on King Arthur Flour. 

So give it a go if you are thinking of making your first loaf. Mine was like a frisbee as it was like a rock but with a bit of practice, I am now quite happy with the loaves I make each week. 

I always make two loaves and Chris has instructions on her blog on how to do this. Just scroll down towards the end of the post.

Our last Simple Living Toowoomba workshop for 2017 will be held next month and I think the date will be the 18th November. Racheal will be showing us how to make seasoned salt for gifts, Margy and Margaret will be demonstrating how to gift wrap in different ways as Margaret is quite familiar with  Furoshiki. Margaret will also be selling some dishcloths, Racheal from Birdsong Market Garden will have some items to sell as well as Shiralee from  A Peaceful Homemaker. So if you live in our region and would like to come along just contact Margy by filling out the Contact and Booking Form and she will put you on the email list so that you are notified of upcoming workshops. 




I know some of my overseas readers would love to come along to our workshops but perhaps you could start a group up where you live. Sometimes if there is a workshop on in your area, such as a cheesemaking or breadmaking one, you might meet other like minded people there who would be happy to meet up regularly even if it is in someone's home to start off with. If you haven't read how ours started up it is explained in the post How to Start Up a Simple Living Group.

Have a great weekend everyone!



13 comments:

  1. My last sourdough effort was not successful, perhaps I will try again now - feeling inspired!!

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  2. Thanks for the update and links.

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  3. Chris from GullyGrove was who I followed for my sour dough instructions. Really grateful to her. I love all your classes. Somehow its very heartening to see so many people living in such a doen to earth way and also so many talented people. Makes me happy! This is all making me wonder what new things will I learn next year?! xxx!

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    1. Thanks Annabel. I love to share with those who love to experiment with what flour and water can do. :)

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  4. Aaaaah what I would do for a sourdough workshop. I’ve finally found a baker living on a farm nearby who will have his next workshop early next year and I’m on his list. In the meantime I purchase his 100% Rye Sourdough which is just so good.
    Your workshops look great and seem to be very popular with such variety.

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  5. I used to make sour dough as our only bread...delicious.

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  6. Thanks so much for sharing this event Chel. It must have been an interesting workshop. I will definitely try Chris's recipe for a change from what I do. Many similarities and I like the idea of the powdered milk and I try to have a multigrain or seed loaf on hand for "health" reasons.I am inspired again to bake bread this week. Best wishes, Pauline

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  7. What a good attendance on a rainy day, lovely workshop and picked up a few more tips too.

    It is hard to realise our group has been going for 5 years, we have all learned a lot in that time and made some good friends too.

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  8. Thanks for the link to the email list for Simple Living Toowoomba Nana Chel, I have sent it off. I'd love to attend some of your workshops. I've been thinking of having a go at making sourdough for ages, just need to find or start a "mother". Cheers Lyndie

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  9. Send me your address and I will post you a dried starter, Lyndie. I think I have some in the fridge otherwise I can dry some for you.

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  10. Thanks for the write up, Chel. It was a fun, busy day, filled with rain but plenty of enthusiasm. :)

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  11. By the way it does work in the bread maker! I let my sponge do it’s thing in there then added the other ingredients and set it to basic normal and went to work. I came home to an amazingly perfect fruit loaf.

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  12. Thanks for that tip. Haidee. I have never known how to make it in the breadmaker. I will have to give it a try.

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