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My neighbor's 50-year-old recipe book revived my sourdough starter
Last month my starter went flat and lifeless after I tried some trendy internet feeding schedule. I was about to toss it when my 78-year-old neighbor Betty saw me sulking on the porch. She brought over her mother's handwritten recipe book from the 1970s and showed me this simple rye flour and potato water method she's used for decades. After just three days of following those old instructions my starter was bubbling like crazy and making the best loaves I've had in years. It made me wonder how many other kitchen shortcuts got lost when we all switched to YouTube tutorials and blogs. Has anyone else found better results from an older generation's method than from current online advice?
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murray.drew14d ago
That simple rye flour and potato water method" is exactly the kind of thing that makes you realize how much we overcomplicate stuff now. My own grandmother never measured a thing when she baked, just went by feel and look, and her bread was always perfect. Makes you wonder if all those precise grams and hydration percentages online are really helping, or just making us second-guess what our hands already know.
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faith_king14d ago
Right there with you @murray.drew, my grandma was the same way.
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taylorellis13d ago
And @faith_king it's like the bread knows what to do if you just trust it.
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