This week I was able to complete my first loaf of sourdough! It was a long process and more in-depth than I was expecting. It started on Friday night. Last week when I got my starter from my aunt, we didn’t have time to chat, so this Friday I went to her house and got to ask her some questions I had. We talked all things sourdough for about 45 minutes! I left her house feeling excited but mostly overwhelmed. I had to remind myself that it was going to be a process, and it’s okay to not nail it in the first go. Friday night I made my leaven. Leaven is a mixture of starter, water, and flour that you use to make the bread. Not all recipes call for leaven (some just use the starter), but I tried it for my first loaf. I let the leaven rest overnight in a bowel covered in plastic wrap. In the morning it had risen and bubbled up so it seemed ready to go. I followed the recipe and made the dough, using flour, water, and leaven. I than let it rise for about 2 hours. Once the autolyse (the first rise) was done I added more water and salt. Then it was time for the bulk rise, about 4 hours. During the bulk rise for the first 2 hours, I folded the dough every 30 minutes. After the bulk rise was done, it was time to shape the bread. Once shaped, the dough had to rest again, this time for 30 minutes, for the bench rest. One more final shaping of the dough and then it was ready for the final rising. I decided to do the final rise overnight in the fridge. The next morning (Sunday) I took the dough out of the fridge and scored it using a knife. I scored it vertically done the middle and then horizontally down the sides a bit. It cooked for about 55 minutes. It turned out! I am not sure how I didn’t seem to mess up any of the steps, must be some beginner’s luck! Although the loaf did turn out, I feel like it could have been cooked a bit better or maybe kneaded a bit more. It is not super airy and is pretty dense and heavy. Next week I am going to try a recipe that is not so tedious. I want to try not using leaven and instead just using part of the starter in the recipe. All in all, though, I think my first attempt was a successful one, and I have been enjoying my loaf. Please see the collage I made of the process on a screenshot of the PowerPoint below.