We had quite a few revolutions in this blog last year:
food in Finland,
happiness... there has even been a small
knit graffiti revolution.
Today, the rebel inside me is screaming for real bread.
Bread culture in Finland is a bit different than in Southern Europe.
There are very few bakeries in Helsinki, most of the people buys
their bread from the supermarket. In addition to this, bread production is quite monopolized, hence there is not much
space for artisan bakers.
That is why I decided to devote the first revolution of the year to
sourdough bread.
"Sourdough bread relies on natural bacteria to rise as opposed to
commercial yeast. Handled with care and passion, the resulting loaf is a
celebration of the work done by arable farmers and the baker. Deep
crust, rich creamy aerated crumb enhanced by the complexity brought by
long fermentation time, sourdough bread is the true expression of the
grain, its soil and environment." (from the Helsinki sourdough bread revolution)
Finns are the kings of
rye bread, which is by the way delicious, but as I said artisan bread is hard to find in here.
Or well, it was hard to find until I met Jerome at
Open Kitchen, the guy who started the
Helsinki sourdough bread revolution. He is using traditional French baking techniques to make the most amazing bread I have ever eaten.
I wish that Jerome gets to open a bakery some day so that smell of freshly-baked bread covers the streets of Helsinki. Meanwhile, you can follow his bread adventure in
here.
I will myself join the revolution by trying to make sourdough bread at home some day... at least I got
this book and I have some french sourdough starter waiting for me in the fridge.
I just need a couple of free days to get started. Wish me luck!
