Sourdough 101: Diwali Edition

​ALL AGES WELCOME! We'll have Diwali-themed sourdough treats and games as well!

​Class Description

​The secret to incredible sourdough that's soft, crusty, and easy on your digestion? Air. Bread can be intimidating for all bakers, even experienced ones, but learning how to make a perfect loaf almost every time means understanding the power of air and how it infuses itself into your bread and aids in the fermentation process.

​Sourdough bread is an ancient art, and it can be particularly useful for anyone looking to cut down on their grocery bill or improve their digestion or gluten sensitivity.

​In this 2-hour class, you’ll learn everything you need to start making sourdough or improve your sourdough baking skills, including:

​- How to begin and maintain your starter from scratch, including correcting over-acidic starter and preventing mold.

​- How to revive a hungry, sleeping, or “dead” starter. - The benefits and drawbacks of buying starter.

​- Dough hydration and temperature, including how the weather effects your starter.

​- How different flours (including heritage grains) impact your sourdough

​- How to make an artisan loaf, including mixing and the stretch and fold method, as well as the coil method, identifying proper fermentation, building gluten, shaping, basic scoring, and baking.

​About Your Instructors:

​Samyuktha Iyer (she/they) is a sustainable development and climate researcher who has contributed to studies on farmer and fisher livelihoods in Cambodia, hydroelectric dam impacts in the Global South, and the adoption of climate-friendly actions in households.

​They have always been interested in connecting academic knowledge to practice and centering environmental justice in their work. They have also helped create a community garden and love to grow food, herbs, and flowers. In the past few years they have delved more deeply into Tamil herbalism, food history, and are interested in preserving traditional skills and folk wisdom in South Asia.

​Moid Ali (he/him) is an architectural designer and food lover based in Chicago, with a background in architecture, adaptive reuse, and sustainable architectural practices. In recent years, he has turned his attention to South Asian culinary traditions and the intersection of food, memory, and care, and how that influences community.