As we move into week three of doing our part through self-isolation to #StopTheSpread, here at the Riverside Lodge in Provo, my wife and I are finding that we can do this. I hope the rest of you can too. Although, personally I do not know how many more times I can #WashHands before I have to use Chapstick instead of hand cream on them.
However, as we #StayAtHome I have got find things to keep me busy. On the few warm days, we have had, I have fertilized the aerated lawn and planted our vegetables, although it has snowed on them twice so far. But on cold days like today, I have to #BakeBread.
This week alone I have baked Sourdough Baguettes twice (but with no cheese), baked my Overnight Sourdough Bread, I successfully a Started a Sourdough Starter, made Cynthia’s Sourdough Oatmeal Wheat Bread, and Sourdough English Muffins. I think you can tell that I love this hobby. And it works to get me to
1) wash my hands frequently
before getting into the dough for mixing. This is also a good way to
2) keep from touching my, eyes and mouth. All that dough on my fingers helps me keep my hands off my face.
Also, I am careful to never cough when I am making bread, but if I do
3) it will be in the bend of my elbow.
It is very rare that I have a crowd over to make bread. I nearly always make it alone which means
4) avoiding crowded places and close contact with anyone showing a fever is pretty easy to do. Although once, I had a group of young women and their leaders over to teach them how to make sourdough bread, that was then, not now. I hope they kept their starters going so that they can #BakeBread while they are out of school.
Even though we have both had colds and I had a low-grade fever for a few days since we are staying home anyway, it is quite easy to for us to
5) Stay at home if we feel unwell, and of course, if that 6) fever or cough worsened, or if either of us had trouble breathing, we would have called our doctor before going to see him. Funny thing, our doctors called us both this week and postponed regular appointments we had scheduled to help keep us safe from others.
And because we are home, we have time to 7) get information from trusted sources. There certainly are plenty of them out there with bad information. Hopefully, at least when it comes to bread, this is site is should be one of your trusted sourdough bread sources.
In the comment section below tell us how #BakeBread has helped you cope during this pandemic.
Author: Darryl Alder lives with his wife in Riverside Lodge, which is their home, along the Provo River in Utah. He is a retired career Scouter and outdoorsman who spent many hours over a campfire using a Dutch oven and loves sharing recipes for the kitchen and the campfire alike. You can read many of his outdoor recipes here and on this site by searching for Sourdough Saturday or Recipes on the top right-hand side of the blog