Sourdough Nibbles

145 year old bread-happy squeak!

This is part of what’s left of the Bayhorse mine in Idaho. It’s also where the sourdough starter that I am using today came from. From the 1880s!! If that’s not squeaktastic I don’t know what is.

As a mouse who loves adventure, I now feel a need to visit this place, but back to the sourdough…from this mining town the starter went to the Devil’s Bedstead Guest Ranch. When I researched that I only found one thing, and that from the 1970s.

I cannot find anything recent about the Guest Ranch so I’ll post this picture of the Devil’s Bedstead area.

Can you say mouse trip?! I’m glad there is a camping trip in the works or I would have to just go camping on my own.

Now on to Sourdough. You need a starter and you keep that in your chilly box in a glass jar. When you want to use it, take it out and mix it with a cup of flour and a cup of water. (If you need to make more pancakes or bread, mix 2 cups of each in the starter and then double the recipes below) When you mix it, it will be very gloppy, that’s ok. Cover with a towel and let sit overnight or all day.

This is what it usually looks like after sitting for that long.

The bubbles mean the sourdough is happy. Happy sourdough means delicious nibbles! At this point, mix it up and put one cup in a clean jar and put back in the chilly box for next time.

Sidesqueak-the bacteria in sourdough break down gluten so many critters who are gluten intolerant can still eat sourdough.

Now to decide what to do with what’s left of your sourdough sponge (that’s what it’s called when you feed it and leave it overnight). You can make pancakes or bread, or use the recipes to make waffles or anything you might use bread dough for.

For pancakes

1 egg

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp avacado oil.

Use milk to thin the batter if need be.

For bread:

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp active yeast

Flour as needed

I add the flour about a 1/2 cup at a time and mix it in until I have a good dough.

Sprinkle flour on a clean surface and turn the dough out on it.

Then push-turn knead for 5 minutes or so.

Use your paws to squish the dough into a pancake like thing and then grease a loaf pan.

Roll up the dough pinching the edges and pinch in the ends.

Put it upside down in the greased pan, then turn it right side up. This way the top will have some grease on it and won’t dry out.

Cover with a towel and let rise an hour or until it’s roughly as tall as the pan. If it’s not raising fast enough, put it in your roasty box at 100 degrees and that will speed the process.

Put bread in roasty box at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. When the timer dings, check the bread with a cake tester. It will likely not be done as yet but if the top is golden, cover it with aluminum foil and then put it back in for another 10 minutes or so.

When the timer dings again, take out the bread and test it.

Tester is clean so bread is done! I let it stay in the pan for about 10 minutes before taking it out, then when it’s out and on the cooling rack, I like to put butter on the top to keep it soft and awesome. Hard crusts are ouchy on critter gums!

Time to taste test. Serrated edge knives are best on bread.

I added butter, garlic salt and fresh parmesan cheese.

Happy squeak! Such delicious nibbles!

Sidequeak…baking bread, cookies or other such nibble items makes the house smell amazing. The smell of baked goods and bread especially, puts critters in a relaxed mood. It’s grounding and comforting and signals the nervous system that all is well. It’s almost magical and I encourage you to try it. If you need sourdough starter you can usually get some at your local health food store or a friend. If you live around Helena, send me a squeak and I can get you some of this ancient sourdough starter to work with. You could nibble the same bread as miners in Idaho and maybe for just a few tail twitches, feel the simplicity of life in the old west.