On the Mediterranean Diet I am baking with my own wild yeast sourdough and loving it. Eating baked goods has never before aligned to dieting in my world. One of my favorite aspects of the Mediterranean Diet way of eating is that I am baking again. I love the aroma of fresh bread in the oven, or a warm dessert for a special occasion. I love to bake with my grands and it is especially wonderful knowing I can eat what we bake and still honor my health!
Principles for Mediterranean Baking
- Use wheat flour or grains rather than processed white flour.
- Olive oil and nuts should replace other fats, such as butter or canola oil.
- Natural sweeteners, if used, should always replace refined sugars. These could include real maple syrup, honey, or fruit.
- Minimize eggs when possible, unsweetened applesauce is a great replacement.
- Swap plant-based products to reduce dairy intake.
- Use salt sparingly.
- Spice it up. Weight loss is linked to spices such as ginger, cinnamon and tumeric (to name a few).
- Use sourdough instead of yeast as it may be easier on the digestive system.
Sourdough was also known as friendship bread when I was growing up. Some people called the starter Herman. Hearing the sourdough starter was ‘alive’ and needed to ‘feed’ and naming it ‘Herman’ all freaked me out as a teen. Two women in my church passed a jar of ‘Herman’ to one another and shared they were happy it was smelly. Was that a good thing? I never envisioned myself a sourdough maker. Yet, here I am baking with my own sourdough on the Mediterranean Diet.
Sourdough starters have become quite popular again. Celebrities are making sourdough starters. I was unaware stars like Jake Gyllenhaal and Pink were making sourdough starters until AFTER I started my own. Two prompts got me into the sourdough craze. First, yeast has been on shortage due to the pandemic. Second, I also learned more about sourdough starter. Sourdough starter is simply wild yeast in a batter form. I love the word “wild” – wild blueberries, wild flowers, wild honey – wild is good. Calling it wild yeast starter would have prompted me creating my own Herman years ago.
Sourdough Starters Take Time
There are many sources on the internet to help learn how to make a sourdough starter. Most of them say that it will take 5-7 days, mine took 12 days. Frustrated, I almost threw my starter away but then I read, each starter has its own personality. Even with all of the online resources, I really wanted a 1-800-Herman helpline to call and discuss my sourdough starter anxiety. It was good to learn that even Pink had called out to her fans for help when her starter was being unpredictable!
On the very day I was ready to pitch the whole experiment into the trash my sourdough test worked! My starter floated in water. It is actually amazing that wheat flour and filtered water can form wild yeast! That very night I made my long awaited Deep Dish Sicilian Pizza. The secret with sourdough starter is to keep feeding it, giving the wild yeast its own timeline to cultivate.
What to do with the Discard?
One thing really bothers me about the whole wild yeast cultivation. It is the amount of discard wasted to get the yeast strong enough to raise a loaf of bread, or in my case the fabulous Deep Dish Sicilian Pizza I was making for my sweetheart. Each day the flour and water mixture is purged, leaving only a portion and new wheat flour and water is added. It can be an immense waste.
‘Waste not want not’ is certainly a motto by which I live, especially when it involves food. In my kitchen, leftovers always morph into another meal. Throwing away discard daily to keep the starter alive is necessary, but disconcerting, especially during a flour shortage. I had to find uses for my discard until my starter could ferment enough to be stored in the fridge. In the refrigerator the starter can be fed weekly rather than daily.
What could be a better use for discarded starter than sourdough pancakes and sourdough waffles? The sourdough pancakes are heavenly, light and fluffy. Pancakes that melt in your mouth. The waffles are hardy and tangy, a perfect compliment for sweet summer strawberries with a touch of real maple syrup. Mediterranean compliant, I love that both recipes are also vegan so all of my favorite guests can enjoy these delectable treats.
My next blog will include my new favorite homemade pizza recipe, Deep Dish Sicilian Pizza. The Deep Dish Sicilian Pizza is the perfect reward for patiently nurturing sourdough starter. This hearty pizza is delicious enough to convince me to move the starter into the refrigerator and continue my sourdough journey. Now I have my own wild yeast, but I do admit sometimes I think of him as Herman.
More Sourdough Starter Recipes
