Meet My Sourdough Starter

Meet my sourdough starter, Mr. Bubbles. 

He's stubborn, finicky, and usually fails to live up to his name. He stinks—I repurposed an old mason jar that used to house salsa and now my starter smells like salsa. I even soaked the lid in soap one night and vinegar another night and it still smells. Luckily it has not affected the taste.

Just like everyone else in the world it seems, I decided to jump on the bread trend and create my own pet. I fed it every day at the same hour but it developed A LOT of liquid (which I later learned is called hooch) after only a couple of hours. I used more flour in two weeks than I've used in my lifetime trying to keep this thing alive and active enough for a loaf of bread. 

It's been over a month since I gave life to Mr. Bubbles and I'm still trying to learn his ways. The thing is, I live in a NYC apartment with an overactive radiator that I cannot control. That combined with the moody weather and open windows, the temperature in my kitchen varies drastically throughout the day. His peak is unpredictable. And sometimes I just want a damn loaf of bread so I'll take what I can get.

I baked my first loaf when Mr. Bubbles was 7 days old and I followed a 25-step recipe by The Kitchn. It didn't rise and came out flat and dense but Nick said it was the best tasting bread he's ever had. Bless his heart. For my second attempt I followed a simpler recipe from King Arthur and the below beauty came out of the oven. Not quite as billowy as I hoped, but still delicious. It has been the base for ricotta, honey, and prosciutto (I could eat this every day for the rest of my life) and created a Joey-worthy sandwich (if you don't get the Friends reference, we can't be friends). 

Determined to put Mr. Bubbles to more use, I also made sourdough soft pretzels and pizza crust. The pretzels were also a little dense and difficult to shape (I created a few blobs) but combined with a jalapeno cheese dipping sauce, we devoured them.

The most successful project has been the sourdough pizza crust. This recipe made four balls so I was able to bake one immediately and freeze the rest for later!

What should I try next?