Sourdough? Mmmmm delicious

I don't particularly like eating a lot of normal bread, but love making and eating sourdough. I had a few goes at keeping a 'starter' going and baking regulary, and in Karlskrona it is really going well. I just love the whole life-filled, creative process of baking: the kneading, the waiting, the experimentation and science...and just that you really have to feel your way through a lot of it rather than following a set recipe (you have to adjust for humidity, temperature, flour etc).

Below I have posted a copy of a guide that I pulled together for some of my interested classmates (sorry if the table is grainy, I did my best) - some of whom now make far better bread than me! A second document is planned, which incorporates some new info and fills gaps in the doc below: thanks to Mum for sending over my book (see http://www.sourdo.com/). I don't follow that book's instructions exactly, as it is a longer process that what I have outlined below, but his recipes are great - especially swedish limpa bread!

Thanks also to this guy called Les Bartlett, from Crystal Waters Ecolvillage in Queensland. My brief experience of baking organic, wood-fired, sourdough bread with him for just one day sticks in my mind as one of the most beautiful, creative processes I have ever witnessed. See http://www.newfarm.org/international/features/0604/australia/index.shtml and scroll down.

One more website is http://www.sourdough.com.au/ - check out the links, especially to ‘Sourdough and Artisan Baking websites’.

Sourdough bread baking advice

Here is some basic information on baking sourdough bread. I am a bit rusty on the history and why you do certain things, but am getting pretty good on the ‘how’. Below I have outlined step by step how I actually bake a basic loaf of bread, with comments side about options and reasons for doing things in this way. At the end is the advice I followed to (eventually) get my starter going.

Equipment and ingredients:
I use plastic / wooden / glass / terracotta utensils and containers. Apparently some metals ones are reactive and can ruin your starter. I bake on a metal oven tray, or in a terracotta container.
Warm water (30-40 celsius). To start with I used purified/distilled/boiled water to make sure my starter got going. Now, Karlskrona tap water seems fine.
Flour. I have used:
- rye (‘råg’ – heavier, soaks up a lot more water therefore smaller loaf),
- spelt (‘dinkel’ – smooth texture, more digestible because of different type of gluten?),
- white wheat (vete – bleached, unbleached, ‘special’),
- wholemeal (fullkorn).
All seem to work fine. One thing I tend to do is add a little bit of rye to everything e.g. my starter, every type of bread I bake. This is my preference, and also based on the fact that rye and wholemeal flours accelerate fermentation.
Sugar. I use unrefined brown sugar, but you need not use it at all.
Salt. You need to use this.
Olive Oil. You can use softened butter or margarine, or none at all.
Cleaning up. It you leave glue covered containers, they will eventually dry out and make it easy to clean. I keep my hands clean by keeping everything moist, rather than covering everything in flour.

Here is an excerpt from one of the websites I used to get me started here in Sweden:

The novel thing about sourdough baking is that it requires that you keep something alive in your fridge. I think of my starter as a pet, kept and fed so that Sandra and I will have all the bread we need. Sourdough "starter" is a batter of flour and water, filled with living yeast and bacteria. The yeast and bacteria form a stable symbiotic relationship, and (as long as you keep the starter fed) can live for centuries, a thriving colony of microorganisms. To make sourdough bread, you blend the starter with some flour and make dough. The yeast propogates, and leavens your bread. This is how you make your starter:
Select a container that your "pet" will live in. A wide-mouthed glass jar is best. I use a glass jar with a rubber and wireframe seal; you can find these for $2-$4 in any antique or junk shop. A small crock with a loose lid is also great; these can be bought in cheap sets for serving soup. You can also use a rubbermaid or tupperware container. I've begun starters using the plastic containers that take-out Chinese soup comes in, and then transferred them to jars later! A wide-mouthed mayonnaise or pickle jar will also do just fine. Metallic containers are a bad idea; some of them are reactive and can ruin your starter (for the same reason, avoid using metal utensils to stir your starter).
Blend a cup of warm water and a cup of flour, and pour it into the jar. That's the whole recipe! I use plain, unbleached bread flour most of the time, but I've had good results with all-purpose and whole-wheat flour, too. If you want, you can add a little commercial yeast to a starter to "boost" it. If you do this, sourdough snobs will look down their nose at you - but who cares about snobs? I personally find that (at least here where I live) no yeast "boost" is necessary, and I can make "real" sourdough with no trouble. But if you are having trouble, go ahead and cheat. I won't tell. Note that starter made with commercial yeast often produces a bread with less distinctive sour flavor than the real thing.
Every 24 Hours, Feed the Starter. You should keep the starter in a warm place; 70-80 degrees Farenheit is perfect. This allows the yeast already present in the flour (and in the air) to grow rapidly. Temperatures hotter than 100 degrees or so will kill it. You can take comfort from the fact that almost nothing else will do so. The way you feed the starter is to (A) throw away half of it and then (B) add a half-cup of flour and a half-cup of water. Do this every 24 hours. Within three or four days (it can take longer, a week or more, and it can happen more quickly) you should start getting lots of bubbles throughought, and a pleasant sour or beery smell. The starter may start to puff up, too. This is good. Here's the gist: When your starter develops a bubbly froth, it is done. You have succeeded. If this sounds brain-dead simple, that's because it is. People who didn't believe the Earth was round did this for millenia.
Refrigerate the Starter. Keep the starter in your fridge, with a lid on it. Allow a little breathing space in the lid. If you're using a mayo or pickle jar, punch a hole in the lit with a nail, that kind of thing. Once the starter is chilled, it needs to be fed only once a week. Realistically, you can get away with less; it's important to remember that your starter is a colony of life-forms that are almost impossible to kill (except with extreme heat). Even starving them is difficult.

Slowing down for Sustainability, even in Japan

A recurring thought in my mind with regards to sustainability is the role of time. We are doing things faster and faster, absolutely accelerating our way to the end of society and the biosphere as we know it. Aided by fossil fuels and interaction technology (like the web, mobile phones), even those trying to create a sustainable future are working themselves to death (the Japanese even have a word for it - 'karoshi') in a frenzy of activity.

There is a book on the topic that I just read, contemplating the various ways in whihc time relates to sustainability. It's called 'About Time' and is available from http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/. I don't think it is the best written book, and think it had the potential to be more than it is...but it was just what I was after.

It's SO EXCITING to here that many people have taken this a step further than writing a book about it, and actually committed to making 'slowing down' and 'simplifying' the driving force in their lifestyle choices. It's a real tension in myself...knowing that taking time to reflect and enjoy other things is so important, but being so excited and enthusiastic about doing things. If you look at the links below, some of the Japanese organisations have sort of turned this around to emphasise the relationships that you can develop (with yourself, your commuity, or with nature) by slowing down, rather than the slowing down itself. Relationships instead of things. Beautiful. And it is starting to work for me : )

Below are a few links and descriptions from Japan that may help you explore this fascinating and, ultimately, deeply personal topic. It's inspiring that not just individuals, but whole cities in Japan, and whole regions in Italy that have adopted various ways of slowing down.

TAKING IT EASY IN JAPAN

There has been increasing reconsideration of present lifestyles in Japan, and a shift away from economic efficiency and towards a slower life and peace of mind. Slow society activities recognize the fundamental interconnections between things, which makes the roots of problems clearer. And slowly working to rebuild the connections that have been damaged e.g. focusing on re-building the links between children and nature through experiential learning (e.g. visiting wetlands), and having cooking competitions using local ingredients, then comparing the taste to those grown in other regions.

Examples:
- The Japan Junior Chamber of Commerce, with 46 000 members who aim to link small local cycles and big global cycles achieve a balance in which people and people, humans and nature, present and future are organically connected in a time frame of natural cycles and through relationships without the mediation of goods or money.

- Iwate prefecture put the following message on the back of it’s business cards: "Do you feel restless when you're not busy? Do you feel uneasy when you're not working hard? You don't have to live that way!". This was part of a range of measures flowing on from their "Take-It-Easy Declaration" in 2001 to launch a movement away from the prevailing ethos of economic efficiency.

- Kakegawa is another example of one of 20 prefectures around the nation that have adopted slow life as their guiding principle.. declared itself a ‘slow life city. *In the late twentieth century, Japan valued and pursued the "fast, cheap, convenient, and efficient" life that brought us economic prosperity. However, it also caused problems such as dehumanization, social ills, and environmental pollution. We would like to move forward, with the slogan "Slow Life," to achieve "slow, relaxed and comfortable" lifestyles, and shift from a society of mass production and mass consumption, to a society that is not hectic and does cherish our possessions and things of the heart."

- The practice of the "Slow Life" involves the following eight themes:
SLOW PACE: We value the culture of walking, to be fit and to reduce traffic accidents.
SLOW WEAR: We respect and cherish our beautiful traditional costumes, including woven and dyed fabrics, Japanese kimonos and Japanese night robes (yukata).
SLOW FOOD: We enjoy Japanese food culture, such as Japanese dishes and tea ceremony, and safe local ingredients.
SLOW HOUSE: We respect houses built with wood, bamboo, and paper, lasting over one hundred or two hundred years, and are careful to make things durably, and ultimately, to conserve our environment.
SLOW INDUSTRY: We take care of our forests, through our agriculture and forestry, conduct sustainable farming with human labor, and ultimately spread urban farms and green tourism.
SLOW EDUCATION: We pay less attention to academic achievement, and create a society in which people can enjoy arts, hobbies, and sports throughout our lifetimes, and where all generations can communicate well with each other.
SLOW AGING: We aim to age with grace and be self-reliant throughout our lifetimes.
SLOW LIFE: Based on the philosophy of life stated above, we live our lives with nature and the seasons, saving our resources and energy."

http://www.japanfs.org/en/public/ngo07.html

http://www.japanfs.org/en/public/ngo07.html

Other ones to check our are:

Slow Food http://www.slowfood.com/ especially the link in the bottom right to slow food for biodiversity!

Or, a very popular book 'In Praise of Slowness : How A Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed ' by Carl Honore

Cows, penguins and apples

Check out this link for pictures and a description of the crazy cow fights! These occur annually near my Swiss friend Brett's home in Switzerland. They don't have to force them to fight, it is just the annual jostling about amongst the females to see who is the boss as they head up the mountain for summer grazing.

We got talking about this as Brett described the way everyone keeps cows, and pays LOTS of money for them, even when they don't use them for milk or anything - they just keep them because it's nice, and because you're 'the man' if your cow wins the cow fight each year.

And, don't worry it - doesn't seem to be that violent.

http://europeforvisitors.com/switzaustria/articles/swiss_cow_fights2.htm

Another thing that Brett has helped me understand is computers. It's been great to ask questions of about the web etc. as many of these technologies are profoundly impacting our society and will continue to do so. I am fascinated at the parallels between social, biological and computer networks and how they can each inform our understanding of the other.

I may blab later about the specific ways in which this knowledge is being used, and how intelligent characteristics and behaviour emerge from relatively simple processes and unintelligent components. Two great books to get you into these sorts of ideas are 'Linked' - by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, and 'Emergence' by Steven Johnson.

Anyway, Brett put in countless hours trying to get an old computer to work again. After my questions about Linux (which uses a penguin logo), he found a version called 'Damn Small Linux' that could be installed on the old computer I acquired. It is free, and takes very little power and space to help the whole thing run at a decent speed to check my email.

I had been excited about things like Linux for a long time: the idea of something that evolves through an open process of users all over the world making suggestions to improve the program. Much better than ol' Microsoft owning the rights and having everyone over a barrel 'til the next version comes out. So, I am very happy to have it running on my little machine.

If you want to know more look at http://www.linux.org/ or http://www.opensource.org/ or look up more about open source software. What a lovely idea. The beauty is you can even get whole 'MS office' type programs like Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/ ) Star Office for free or a fraction of the price of the MS product, and then, and then....it's just all very facsinating in revealing an alternative to the way most people currently do things.

Or you could get a Mac...ohhhhhh so nice and white and funky...There are limitations to what I can do with a computer that is slower than my Pocket PC!

Are you on the bus or off the bus? A sustainability fieldtrip : )

I think my recollection of this week is a bit hazy now, but it was really fun times.

The things I did and places I visited included:

* A very hip cafe http://www.cafestring.com/ IN Swedish, so not really of much use to many of you!

* A very kitsch, plastic shop www.coctail.nu

* Perhaps the coolest furniture ever - check the style before you work out what it's made of! http://www.rd.se/catalog/index.php?language=en

* A very cool documentary film festival, where we got to meet and ask questions of Vandana Shiva - famous 'seed saver' and now anti-göobailsation activist. This was an absolute highlight for some of us, and I'm glad we persisted in our efforts to get along to it!

Vandana Shiva is really leading the charge in protecting the rights of the farmer's to grow traditional food varieties and be self-sufficient in the face of pressure corporations (like the incredibly sneaky and unethical Monsanto) that are constantly seeking to privatise and profit from what should be free and publicly owned. Vandana Shiva's homepage is http://www.navdanya.org/ I really strongly suggest you check it out, or get copies of the 'no nonsense' guides to water and globalisation - available at http://www.newint.com.au/catalog/nonoguides.htm. Jeez, I'm just a publicity pawn!!!!

* The homepage of the documentary film festival was www.tempo.nu, but is now offline. Note that use of the .nu domain name generates profits for the small island of Niue (sort of part of New Zealand) to maintain it's solar powered wireless internet network! The name is popular in Sweden because it means 'now'. See more at http://www.nunames.nu/about/about.cfm , and note that I have heard several more reports of plans for entire African nations (e.g. Rhwanda) aiming to have wireless internet access for their entire population through the same sorts of technologies : ) This use of these technologies in this way e.g. everyone using mobiles in areas where there has never been landlines, has been termed 'leapfrogging', and gets some people very excited...

* Attended the a conference on biofuels http://www1.stocon.se/cleanvehicles/9/10334.asp (for all the proceedings and presentations), which was really eye-opening re: Brazil's use of biofuels, entire regions in Sweden and the US committed to their production and use, and the technicalities of the differenct fuels.

* Visited the global sustainability staff at 'Tetrapak' - a company that is doing pretty well in the sustainability stakes, and that is keen to do even better http://www.tetrapak.com/ A real issue from an Australian perspective is the effect that their long-life packaging has had on allowing transport of foods over long-distances with

* Got to visit some of the big guns in Swedish sustainability NGOs...doing amazing work in a variety of fields, and all with a strong commitment to working on majority/south/developing country issues. They also (especially resalliance) come from a 'natural resources' angle, which connedcted with me. See www.resalliance.org www.sei.se www.beijer.kva.se These meetings heavily influenced my thinking on a few issues, and I will be seeing if I can incorporate their ideas into my thesis, and will look into somehow working on some of their projects after the course.

* And had a very, very fun night where I was a bit drunk. So, the story is:

I was very excited about this night, and keen to dance to some thumping techno / trance / drum and bass. Cooked dinner, got dressed, had a few drinks, and nailed down three or four venues and events where there was sure to be some good DJs and pumping tunes. As it happens, the group of people I was with were not so sure about the clubs I had picked out, and had others in mind - that's cool I thought, I've had a few drinks and can probably dance to just about anything...

We met more people at a busy street corner downtown, and I quickly ducked off up the road...only to come back to no-one! I checked my phone, and there was a missed call from a friend...but I had no credit to call him back 'Where the hell are they!' Somehow the phone let me call, and I was directed towards a mass of stylish, wealthy looking people outside a very exclusive bar about 50m away. Approaching the mass of beautiful Swedes, I couldn't hlep but compare my attire with theirs: patched jeans, a bright red and blue T-shirt and dirty sneakers versus sleek black dresses, suits, ties and overcoats...there was no way we were going to get in here!

But, my similarly-dressed friends already had, and they simply directed the murderous looking bouncer towards my waving hand, and a path opened through the ten deep crowd. 100kronor to get in, and 385 kronor ($60 AUD) for three vodka-oranges, and I had blown my budget for the week! I proceeded to drink some more of the vodka we had sneaked in, before leaving the apparently ( I don't remember) swedish girls Richard had brought back to our table, and dance in my own crazy way amongst a bunch of more very beautiful swedes on the dance floor. As my style became increasingly erratic and the crowd cleared a space around me, I figured I was going to get the attention of some of the bouncers so (as I recall it) distributed all my valuables amongst my friends...I was thinking strategically here....

And so, after a while, the bouncers came to lead me away. Despite their perfect English, I pleeded 'forsta inte' ('I don't understand' in Swedish). Eventually I explained that it was freezing outside and that I needed my jacket, but that my friends had my ticket for the coat check. So, I ended up getting away. This then happened about three more times - with some variations, including laying the contents of my wallet out on the floor 'desperately' searching for the missing coat check ticket! The Swedes are two nice, any other place on earth and they would have just thrown me down the stairs and been done with me. Anyway, I forced a tip into the hand of my favourite bouncer friend as I walked out the door - I don't think he appreciated it.

Anyway, it was a very classy place, and had the most decadent toilets I have ever seen - the ladies' were like a marble palace complete with seats in front of lit make up mirrors and electronic toilet door locks - don't ask me how I know that.

See more pictures and reviews at http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/stockholm/sturecompagniet-stockholm.htm and http://www.sturecompagniet.se/lokal.asp?lankID=17 (links on right to some photos)

Fun trip eh! I've really understated the acadmeic value of it, so contact me if you want to know more about any of those parts!

Photo Selection 3 - Finland

Photo Selection 4 - Lofoten Islands (Norway)

Photo Selection 2 - Turkey too

Photo Selection 1 - Turkey

Photo selection 5 - Norway coastal cruise