Adventures in Sourdough

I am currently taking a course titled Chemistry in the Kitchen. For this class we each must choose a recipe and analyze its chemical properties to determine why it works the way it does. 

I have been wanting to make sourdough bread for quite a long time so I decided what better way to prefect the art of sourdough then through learning the chemistry behind it. After some research into different dourdough methods, I decided to go with the wild yeast fermentation method which essentially means you do not add any yeast to the starter. Many recipes suggest using organic grapes or pineapple juice in your starter to help activate the yeast growth. I decided to use just water.

Day 1. Mix together 1/4 cup rye flour with 1/8 cup filtered water.

1/4 cup flour

1/8 cup water

Mix it all together

Once the flour and water in combined, place it in a plastic container and cover it with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and rubber band (as I did here).

 Store in a dark room temperature place, aka your cupboard.

Sourdough stater hanging out with the wine glasses.

 Day 2-5. For the next 4 days you will first dispose of 1/2 of the starter. Then place the other half of the starter in a bowl  with 1/4 cup of flour (all purpose or rye- I alternated each day) and 1/8 cup of filtered water. Mix the flour, water and starter until well combined. Wash out the container and then add the mixture, cover it and put it back in the cupboard until the next day.

Around day two or three your starter will start to become very bubbly and have a sour odor. You will also notice that it doubles in size over night. These are all good signs that your starter is active and healthy. 

Day 6. (sorry no photo) On day six you will once again dispose of half of your starter and this time you will add 3/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of filtered water. Mix well and then return to a clean container, this time one with a lid. Put the starter in the fridge for at least six hours, and then your starter is ready to use!

Sourdough English Muffins

My first experiment with my sourdough starter was a huge sucess! 

In a large bowl I combined:

1/4 cup water

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1/2 tbs sugar

1 tsp yeast 

1/4 tsp salt

I mixed it all together with a wooden spoon. I then dumped the dough onto a wooden cutting board and kneeded it for about 5 mins until I had a smooth, elastic ball. I placed the ball in an oiled bowl, covered it with a cloth and let it rise until it doubled in size (~4 hours). 

I then rolled the dough out into a 1/2 inch slab and used a drinking glass to cut out 6 circled.

O placed them on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal, covered them with plastic wrap and allowed them to rise for a second time (only about 30 mins).

I preheated the over to 350 degrees F.

 I cooked them on the stove top in a cast iron skillet for about 5-6 minutes per side, the formed a nice golden brown crust with maintained a fluffy interior. 

I then finished them off in the oven, cooking them for an additional 5-7 minutes.

 All I can say is WOW.

These turned out so delicious and so beautiful. 

(I have already eaten two today) 

I am really looking forward to breakfast :)

A Balancing Act

The past few weekends have been full of fun and festivities. 

This weekend was a little different, a bit more low key.

Friday night was the Bike to the Farm Potluck, an event I organized though my internship with the Center for Sustainability Education. We had about 90 people ride the nearly 7 miles out to the College Farm though the rolling hills Pennsylvanian countryside. We feasted on an assortment of dishes and dessert and sat by the big bonfire.

Bikes at the farm!

Sunset over the Farm!

Saturday was spent walking around an Art Festival downtown with JJ and her Mom. We had a nice time checking out all the booths and getting our creative juices flowing. I spent the rest on the day doing some homework.

And then this was how I spent my Saturday Night-

LAUNDRY TIME!

Sunday morning Lauren and I got up early and spent all morning and into the afternoon doing work at this cool coffee shop in Harrisburg.

Breakfast/Study Snack- Coffee and Pumpkin Banana Bread. 

 

A productive weekend well spent. 

Farm Aid Concert

After our volunteer shift ended (2 hours earlier then expected) we walked back over to Hershey Park where the Homegrown Village and Concerts were being held.

 The Homegrown Village is where food and farm groups from across the country come together to exhibit their work. It is a place or concertgoers to mingle with farmers, engage in hands-on food and farm activities and learn about the ways family farmers are enriching our soil, protecting our water and growing our economy, in addition to bringing us good food for good health. (source)

The Dickinson College Farms stand inside the Homegrown Village.

The Homegrown Village was full of innovative ideas and projects such as a Farm Incubator which is a large farm that parcels out its land to young farmers interested in starting a farming business as a way to help them get into the business without the enormous upfront costs. Another awesome invention was this bicycle powered grain mill!

The Homegrown Village had some much great information, from new innovative ideas like the ones mentioned above to basic, practical information like Composting 101. There were demonstrations, workshops and petitions. It was a great mix of useful and inspiring information.

Yeah Sweden!

Matt and Jenn, the College Farm Managers gave a presentation about composting and vermicompost (aka worm composting).

 

After hanging out in the Homegrown Village for a few hours it was time enter to concert arena.

First up-Grace Potter.

25,000 to 30,000 people were there!

While sitting in the stands watching Grace Potter we asked the guy behind us to take our picture...

Where are we???

We then asked if he could take one more. 

There we are!

Next up- Jack Johnson (the best of the evening!)

Sunset.

After Jack Johnson was-

Kenny Chesney

David Mathews Band

John Mellencamp

Neil Young 

Willi Nelson

Towards the end of the show we started to get tired and silly.

Caught mid-yawn

Sleepy

Sleeping

Sleeping some more.

Neil Young

Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Rocking out.

An amazing event and an amazing time had by all! 

Can't wait to go back next year!

Farm Aid 2012 Volunteers

Several of my friends work on the Dickinson College Farm and this year the manager of the College Farm, Jenn Halpin, was named as one of Farmer Heroes by Farm Aid. This summer when my friends found out that the Farm Aid concert would be held in Hershey PA (just 20 miles from Dickinson) they were eager to get involved and invited me along. We all applied to be volunteer and were placed on the food prep duty (a 6 hour shift which only lasted 3 hours!)

Lauren and I in our Kick Ass volunteer shirts.

 

Megan, Lauren, me, Tabea and Madison.

The gang- Evan, Lauren, Me, Megan, Tabea, Madison and Kayln.

After volunteer check in we headed over to the staff catering tent to get a bite to eat before our shift started.

All local and organic food.

mmm breakfast!

Megan and Lauren enjoying the delicious spread.

After fueling up we went over the the Giant Stadium to get to work in the kitchen. Hershey Park does not have its own kitchen on site which is why we had to go to the stadium about a mile away. They rely on all packaged foods that don't require anything more then renormalization. Through catering this event Farm Aid was able to show Hershey Park that it is possible to feed 30,000 people on locally sourced, organic ingredients if you have and use the resources available (aka a Kitchen).

The kitchen staff was very well organized and on-top of their game so there was not too much work for us to do. At  first it felt like we were more of a burden then a help to them but then they began to loosen up and I could tell they really enjoyed our company. We provided some comic relied and we all had fun joking around.

Working hard.

Around 12:30 or 1 the paced picked up. The food had to be on its way to the catering tent by 2:30. Madison, Megan and Tabea helped wrap and label food as it was on its way out the door.

Lauren and I were on Green Bean steaming and buttering duty.

so much butter!

By 2:30 the food was being loaded on to the truck to be driven over to Hershey Park. 

Our shift was scheduled to run from 10:30-4. The food was out the door at 2:30 which left nothing else for us to do so the Head Chef let us leave early to enjoy the event.