Photo by Arturrro on unsplash.com
While planning for the inquiry project, many ideas ran through my head. I enjoy healthy cooking and fitness, so I first thought of tracking runs and workouts or learning how to cook and developing a collection of recipes. Both of these choices would have allowed me to benefit myself through a school project, which is a great opportunity to take advantage of.
Since I am new to living off-campus, I thought bettering my cooking abilities would be more beneficial to me than documenting fitness. While starting to plan for my project, I realized that less broad topics within cooking would be easier to document progress and also less of a financial burden while in school. Because of this, I began researching ongoing projects that could be convenient and enjoyable while tracking my progress and learning.
This led my research towards sourdough bread. Making sourdough bread is an interesting process that can last millenials. It also benefits my household as we will no longer need to buy loaves of bread when we have consistent batches of sourdough available to us. You can also learn to make different types, shapes, and designs of sourdough bread, as you become more and more confident in the process. This allows for a lot of growth and progress that can develop throughout this semester. Making sourdough bread is also a skill that I can continue to practice and enjoy beyond this course project.
To begin the process, I read this blog by Nick and Ashley from Riggin Farm
They describe the science and history of the complex process of beginning, maintaining, and creating bread from sourdough starter. They also make the article accessible and enjoyable by including many images, relating to their own experiences, and maintaining simple diction that is easy for readers to digest. They explain the process from the beginning of creating the sourdough starter to maintaining the active yeast and making bread whenever you wish. It is a great resource for anyone new to the practice who would like to learn about more than just the process of creating it.
