Wheat Stalk: Your Window into My Sourdough World
Hello, fellow bread-enthusiast! I’m Vrushali Potdar, and I’m excited to introduce you to Wheat Stalk 🌾, a place where I share my journey into the world of sourdough bread baking.
All you knead is bread ♥️
So you might ask, why did I start making the sourdough and why am I so eager to share it with you? Here’s why!
The Simplicity of Sourdough
You see, most store-bought bread is packed with a laundry list of ingredients with additives and preservatives. I was drawn to sourdough bread because it is made using just three basic ingredients: water, flour, and salt. I loved the simplicity of the ingredients and my preference for a more natural and minimalistic approach to food.
My Love for Challenges
I’m a sucker for a good challenge and bread making is an intricate process that intrigued me right from the start. I watched one documentary and I couldn’t resist the pull of mastering the art of sourdough. From kneading and shaping to understanding the wild yeast, every step proved to be a fascinating challenge.
Feeding My Curiosity
Sourdough invokes all your senses
As I started googling, instagramming (passive), and netflixing the sourdough, the content further fueled my curiosity. I started feeling that although I was familiar with numerous forms of Indian bread and goodies made from wheat, I had never really wondered about the mechanics of bread making. How do you knead the flour? What’s the science behind developing gluten? What are the different types of flour and their unique qualities? One question would lead to ten more and it was one big rabbit hole. I started exploring bread-making techniques, such as slap and fold, stretch and fold, coil and fold, how they’re different from each other, how the flours play the role and more
The Uncertainty Factor and the Fun
Bread has a mind of its own
The most thrilling aspects of sourdough bread making, for me, is the element of uncertainty. There are so many variables, and you never quite know what the outcome will be, bread does its own thing. This unpredictability is what keeps me engaged and excited. Every bake reveals something new, and I’ve come to appreciate the unexpected in the creative process.
Sharing the Passion
Every bake teaches me something new
From my very first bake, I documented my process, capturing more details as I progressed. I made videos of my baking experiments and shared them with friends. The encouragement I received from them made me realize the power of sharing my passion. It felt good when I told my friends I am self-taught. I made a ton of mistakes and learned from them, and I wondered why I made them. I’m not an expert, but I believe that sharing our experiences and learnings can inspire and guide others who are on a similar journey.
Why the Name?
Now, why “Wheat Stalk”? The name is a homage to my love for wheat, the heart and soul of bread. I appreciate the grain’s simplicity, its versatility, and its natural goodness. The wheat stalk scoring comes out quite pretty on the bread and it’s a symbol of my dedication to this craft.
Wheat Stalk: Your Window into My Sourdough World
Wheat Stalk is about a journey of creativity, experimentation, and learning. Here, I plan to document my successes, my failures, and all the lessons learn along the way. I’ll share my experiences with different flour combinations, hydration levels, scoring techniques, various types of breads and everything else I learn along the way. I hope you find something here on Wheat Stalk that sparks your own culinary curiosity.
So, come along with me as I knead, shape, score, and bake my way through the world of sourdough.
With flour-dusted hands and a heart full of passion :)
Vrushali
