My love of baking was amplified during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Spending endless days at home, afforded me the luxury of spending more time baking all the goodies through the anxiety and uncertainty of life. Surprisingly, I had never baked bread and I figured I didn't really need to because some of the best bakeries can be found in my neighbourhood. 

Then I saw the world’s obsession with sourdough starter and I knew I had to get on board. There was so much content on the internet about how to make a batch of sourdough starter. It didn’t seem too difficult but it did require patience and time. When Gary and I decided to get on the sourdough bread baking bandwagon, we had little room for time or patience. We wanted our bread now, daddy! 

So we bought our sourdough starter from one bakery, flour from another, and became bread bakers. 

Um, actually no, not bread bakers. Our first loaf was passible. We mixed it, kneaded it, rolled it, shaped it, rested it and proofed it. The kneading was endless but in many ways it was also calming, even therapeutic. Gary had one loaf that he was working on and I had another. We had a lot of pleasure in learning a new tangible skill. There was this feeling of satisfaction in transforming flour into a beautiful loaf of bread. 

Except it wasn’t beautiful. It wasn’t mouth wateringly delicious.  It was . . . meh. 

Our second loaf was Not. As. Good. As. The. First. 😳  

And then we discovered the hundred other baked goods you can make from sourdough starter. 

Oh, by the way, did I mention that naming your sourdough starter is a thing? We named ours Louis, after Louis Litt from Suits. During Covid, we binged the whole series and loved it. Louis is so multi dimensional - fragile, drama queen, needy - all the qualities of our starter. With Louis, we made pancakes, pizza dough and the star of our show - focaccia. 

Here’s my recipe for garlic and rosemary focaccia.

Sourdough enhances the flavours in focaccia – olive oil, sea salt, and herbs. Baked in a tray, this bread can be eaten as is, or with a bowl of soup, dunked into a bread dip of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or cut in half and filled with delicious charcuterie and/or roast veges for a mouthwatering sandwich.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sourdough starter

• 2 cups warm water

• 4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more for baking

• 4 cups bread flour

• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary 

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped finely

Instructions

• Combine the sourdough starter, water, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the salt. Add the flour and mix until a sticky dough begins to form. Knead in the bowl with wet hands for several minutes, rewetting your hands as necessary to prevent sticking.

• Cover dough and ferment for 12-24 hours or until doubled in size. I have to admit, I have waited as little as 4 hours.

• Preheat oven to 230°C. Generously grease a large baking sheet with a lip all the way around. Carefully turn the dough out onto the greased baking sheet, taking care not to deflate the dough. Spread it out by gently pressing the dough.

• Use your fingers to create indentations in the top of the dough by sinking them in slowly. It should look like divots all over the top of the dough.

• Drizzle over the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt, chopped rosemary and garlic.

• Let bread rest for 30 minutes.

• Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

• Drizzle with some more olive oil for an added flavour boost. ENJOY!

L + M: In typical Louis style, he’s active, bubbly and ready to be used!

R: The dough is ready to be covered and double in size in the next 4 - 24 hours.

The dough has been spread and drizzled with olive oil, garlic and rosemary.

Tadaa!