It's Alive! A Cheater's Guide to Sourdough

Hello, my name is Charise and I’m a cheat. When it comes to sourdough, at least.

Traditional sourdough starters use wild yeasts, captured from the air or from fruit, to leaven breads and baked goods. Making these traditional starters can be tricky. Depending on cleanliness, weather and location a traditional starter may--or may not--take off. It can be a frustrating process. You can buy true sourdough starters, but that’s just not my style (feel free to purchase one, if it’s yours.) If you know someone with a healthy starter, you could just ask for some and feed it. I don’t know any such creature. So, I cheat.

No-Knead Bread

I came late to the no-knead bread party. Several years late. It’s not that I didn’t believe that the method was worth trying; I just didn’t see the need for a shortcut in bread making. Kneading bread was a kind of meditation for me and I liked it.

Then the cutest baby boy on the planet--In my opinion, at least--entered into my life. Needless to say, becoming a Mom has left me with much less time in the kitchen. I still like to knead bread, but this recipe is a great way to have homemade bread when you have very little time on your hands.

Leftover Cornbread Strata

I’ve been on a cornbread kick lately. So much so, that I’ve been planning meals around what dishes go with cornbread. Needless to say, we’ve been eating a lot of greens--Yum!

As much as I love cornbread fresh out of the oven, it’s not at its best when cold. This presents a problem at my house, since the two of us can’t finish a full pan in one sitting. What am I supposed to do with all this leftover cornbread? Why make cornbread strata, of course.

Skillet Cornbread

Southern-style skillet cornbread is a revelation. At least, it was for me. The cornbread of my childhood was a mix that came in a blue, red and white box. You know the one. I hear some people call it cake.

It wasn’t very long ago that I made my first batch of skillet cornbread. The crisp crust and moist, chewy interior almost did me in with the first bite. Heavenly! Who knew that cornbread could be so good without added sugar? I certainly didn’t.

Since that first batch, I’ve been on a quest to find my idea of the perfect recipe. So far, this is it.