Sourdough and Chicken

If you want to slow down, go to the kitchen. Fresh bread and a whole roast chicken are two of my favorite ways to experiment with cooking and baking. I love working in the kitchen, but not when I’m rushed to complete a meal after a long work day with 3 other hangry beings asking “when’s dinner?” “I’m hungry, can I get cereal?” “Why are you making that? I don’t LIKE that!” So on the rare day spent at home, I often find myself puttering around in the kitchen. Now, I’ll admit to using recipes as loosely followed suggestions, rather than strict guidelines, which may be why I prefer cooking to baking. Bread, though, seems to go more by feel, with some days requiring more or less flour, and more or less time to rise.

There is just no way to rush the bread process (aside from completely ignoring the instructions to allow to cool completely before slicing - my rebellious side emerges occasionally) even though it really doesn’t take that much active kitchen time. Now, to clarify, I have had my sourdough starter long before it became cool during the pandemic. It’s actually older than David, and I froze it for a couple years when I wasn’t using it during the throes of raising a toddler and working full time. Now it lives in my fridge and I more or less ignore it until I feel guilty and put it on the counter for a few days and feed it flour. Every so often this either prompts me to dump some extra flour in a bowl, add the starter and water and see what happens, or enough requests from the family guilt me into baking.

Last week was one of those times that enough comments were made about fresh bread. But, when I wanted to bake, I didn’t have enough flour. Step one - groceries. Step two - casually review the online recipe I sort-of follow. Step 3 - get out my favorite big white bowl. Step 4 - start mixing stuff and let the boys make their own mini-loaves, over kneaded and smashed, so we can learn what happens to bread if the dough is not handled properly. Step 5 - wait until dough doubles in size, then gently knead and place in a pan. Step 6 - wait for it to rise again while the oven is preheating. Step 7 - bake. Step 8 - try not to burn myself taking it out of the oven. Step 9 - disregard the rules and cut while steaming, trying a piece with butter, then another with olive oil, and yet another with honey!

Now, moving on to chicken: There’s just something about making a roast chicken makes me feel like a grown-up (yes, I know I’m solidly in my 40s, but I digress). The point is, it comes out of the oven like a mini Thanksgiving turkey and can make a weeknight feel fancy, and then there’s even leftover meat for soup, chicken tacos, or other creative leftover for the next day. Yet again, I don’t follow a recipe - I just stuff the chicken with whatever veggies are languishing in the crisper, and then dump a bunch of spices, herbs, and olive oil over the top. I have found that it comes out juicier if I cook it low and slow for several hours with a little bit of broiling at the end to make the skin crispy.

I also typically use my mom’s old gold dutch oven, straight out of the 70s and still going strong! It works well for the chicken as well as for round loaves of bread. There’s something really enjoyable about eating a meal that didn’t take much work, but did require some forethought and planning. It also helps to have the delicious aromas taking over the kitchen while I get some work done on the computer, work on other household projects, or simply relax and read. The hyper-productive multitasker that I am constantly trying to rein in just loves this!

There are plenty of recipes that require slowing down instead of the “30 minute meal” concept. Do you have a favorite? If you aren’t one to create in the kitchen, how have you found ways to slow down through another creative process?