Does Your Indiana Home Kitchen Have one of These?

During the pandemic, we all had to find new hobbies to engage in to avoid going crazy out of boredom. For me, I started getting into slow-smoked barbecue. However, I didn't stop at perfecting my brisket and rib cooks; I also learned how to make my own sausage using leftover trimmings. After that, I started curing and smoking my own bacon, which my family has come to thoroughly enjoy. I think many of us resorted to similar hobbies during this time as a way to not only stay entertained but also save a buck or two while keeping food in the house.

While I was out back splitting logs for my smoker, my wife was inside learning about canning and baking. It was around this time that the sourdough bread craze hit TikTok, and everyone seemed obsessed with making it. A few years later, the trend is still going strong, and it's something I see almost daily in my reels and For You Page (FYP) on TikTok. If you've never made this kind of bread before, perhaps this is your sign to hop on the bandwagon, as it can be both fun and delicious.

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According to Good Food, this type of bread is naturally leavened, which means it doesn’t use commercial yeast to rise. Rather, it uses a "starter" made up of a fermented flour and water mixture that contains wild yeast and bacteria. This is what gives sourdough that delicious, chewy texture I've come to really enjoy. Additionally, Good Food notes that wild yeast has more flavor than commercial yeast and also doesn’t contain any additives. If you're looking to start making sourdough, you can check out the video below to learn how to get yours going.

One of my home projects on my to-do list this summer is to build a brick oven in my backyard with which to bake sourdough. Not only is this bread great for grilled cheese and other sandwitches, but it's also great for pizza crust, and if you've never had a wood-fired oven pizza, you're missing out. Luckily, even if you don't want to build your own oven, making sourdough is super simple and just requires a tiny bit of space in your kitchen. If you're ready to find a new hobby, this could be the one for you.