…is not for everyone. Hats off and much appreciation to all the bread bakers out there. Thank you for feeding us every day.

I spent about two weeks mentally and physically preparing myself for the day I baked my first sourdough bread. And I failed gloriously.

Let me go back in time for a bit to where it all started: the starter.

About two months ago I armed myself with one of the best organic flour on the local market.

Then one day, I received as birthday present, a book on everything sourdough.

All stars seemed to align: perhaps I should give that sourdough bread a try.

But first, the starter. What is it? A magical potion that turns the bread more nutritious and easy to digest due to the probiotics fermentation (the short explanation). I decided I would do it myself. Easy peasy formula: flour and water, feed the farm every day in large amounts.

Between reading books, forums and consulting friends, I arrived to day five just to conclude that my starter smelled too much like acetone and had to discard it all. Yet, I didn’t give up.

The next day I went begging for a bit of starter at one of the sourdough bakeries in the neighborhood. I thought I’d have to buy some, yet sourdough specialist friends reassured me that the culture is all about sharing the starter.

I came back home and fed my little farm carefully. Those famous bubbles started popping up – the farm was alive and kicking.

After one week, I got my hands on that dough. I took a day off from my job so I would focus solely on the kneading process. Long story short, I believe I must have left the dough to ferment far too long, because when I placed it in the improvised Dutch oven*, it deflated like a balloon. So I made a focaccia instead.

For now, I decided to leave aside the bread baking idea. I learned the tricks of the trade and that is suffice. With such a deep sourdough baking culture in Lisbon, why not save some time?

I confess I do romanticize about the idea that one day I’ll have so much time at hand that I will be often baking bread for my grandchildren. haha!

*I didn’t have any of the baking kit required and had to improvise dramatically to substitute tools.