Sourdough in the Tropics

My friend Holly makes most of the bread for her household so I made bread nearly every day while we were in Guatemala.

 

I had taken some sourdough starter along in my suitcase. It wasn't that I couldn't bear to leave my starter, I just thought Holly would enjoy playing with it. But whether she did or not, I sure did.

I've never saw sourdough grow so well. I can get a good crop of bubbles in Pennsylvania but in Guatemala the same starter was so bubbly is foamed! I don't know if it was the difference of flour, or weather, but the starter liked its new growing conditions. I know I'm crazy but it made me bubbly happy to see such happy sourdough bubbles!

 

I learned a few things by baking bread in Guatemala. First, I relearned the joy of hand mixing/kneading bread. Every morning I pulled out the big red bowl and a couple measuring cups and mixed up a new batch of bread. So simple. So few dirty dishes. I usually made a double batch of the soft sourdough bread making either loaves or rolls with the dough. I thought it would be too much dough to knead by hand but it wasn't bad. If I would have had another week of bread baking, my arms would have probably become used to it and it would have been even easier.

 

Second I was surprised at how mild the sourdough tasted. I always thought that hot temperatures would make a more "sour" flavored sourdough. But Holly's kitchen was certainly warm, over 100 degrees most days. The sourdough pot sat next to the bean slow cooker and was certainly cozy warm. But the sourdough bread was very mild flavored and not sour tasting at all. I'm not sure if it had to do with the flour (I was using white flour instead of the usual whole wheat I bake with.) Or if since the dough raised faster in the warm temperatures it didn't have as long to acquire a strong flavor. Or something I haven't considered.

Whether the mild flavor is a good thing or not is dependent on your goals. My husband actually likes a bread with a lot of flavor! But regardless, the bread was very tasty, actually sweet - and addictive.



So if you live in the tropic - give sourdough a try! From my experience, sourdough flourishes in the warm, humid environment!