Bagels, bread
and sourdough—
knead we say more?
By Harry Bielskis
News Editor
In this decade of liberation, both men
and women are finding themselves crossing
roles and pursuing job fields and hobbies
traditionally limited to "the other sex."
For instance, it is not uncommon today
to see women wearing hard hats, driving
semi-trucks, or entering the field of politics.
By the same token, more men are entering
fields such as nursing and secretarial science.
Even hobbies such as sewing, needlework and
baking are becoming appealing to the mas
culine set.
This exchanging of roles is somewhat of
a phenomena and when Clackamas Com
munity College offered a three-part class in
Creative Bread Making for Men, I decided to
see why men would be motivated to do
something long considered "women's work."
It was hard for me to imagine grown men
in a baking class and the prospect of seeing
a bunch of unshaven, cigar-toting men throw
ing tlour around appeared quite humorous. I
I expected our instructor to be a chubby,
aproned grandmother cheerfully holding a
tray of freshly baked bread loaves while
stating, "This is the way I expect yours to
be, boys."
With a large spoon and mixing bowl I
entered my first baking session and was
surprised to find that we had a male instruc
tor. Al Tekarius, a Lake Oswego shipbuilder,
informed us that this class was his first
teaching attempt, although he had once
operated a restaurant in Indiana.
Tekarius spent the first half-hour trying
to stifle our creative insecurity.
"My first bread attempt was a flop," he
said. "Some people follow recipes right to
the letter. I never do. Because this is a course
for men, you are not expected to either. Be-
men, there were two women present. Caro
lyn Troychak was one.
"I bake regular bread and Albert (her
husband) wanted to learn about sourdough
baking but was afraid to come alone, so I
tagged along," she said.
The other female was a companion I had
brought along for much the same reasons
that Troychak had brought his wife, except
that I had no previous baking knowledge.
Our first session involved becoming ac
quainted with sourdough starter. Starter was
originally bread made without yeast, and
its use dates back to Medieval Europe. Because
it can be kept and replentished for an in
definite period of time, baking enthusiasts
cherish starter that has passed through several
generations. It is a common belief that
starter came to this country the same time
as the pilgrims.
The older the starter, the more sour the
bread. Authentic San Francisco sour dough
bread, world famous for its bitter taste, is
made from starter that was put together 60
or more years ago. Aside from bread, starter
can be used to make biscuits, pancakes and
rolls.
SOUR DOUGH STARTER
2 cups warm water
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups flour
Put all ingredients in blender container
and cover. Process at low speed until smooth.
Pour into a 2-quart mixing bowl and cover
with cheesecloth. Leave in a warm room for
48 hours. Stir several times.
After 48 hours, cover with a tight-fitting
cover and refrigerate. To use, stir, measure
amount needed, then add equal parts of
flour and water to remaining starter. Blend
Harry Bielskis, Cougar!
Men on a whim of the
cooking at home.
agreed to bring in samplesol
product the following week.
The second week we compa
and commented on its taste am
"I worked about five hoi
loaves of bread, tasted theme
would die!" said one disappt
maker.
Flour flies us men bake bagels and bread
sides, what can go wrong as long as the
dough rises?"
His rule of thumb in baking is: "Never
mind what it looks like, if it tastes good,
you have been successful."
My fellow students consisted of four re
tirees, two middle-aged men, and three col
lege students. Each had a different reason
for taking the class.
"I've always messed around with bread
baking but never the sourdough end of it. It
seems like it would be fun," said Howard
Lehman, retired grocer.
"I wanted to learn the whole process be
cause I'm a bachelor," said Ned Finnegan,
CCC student.
While most of the attending students con
sidered bread baking a hobby, Jed Brown of
Mulino saw the class to be more of a neces
sity.
"My wife signed me up for the course,"
he said. "I didn't have any faith in her cook
ing and you'd starve to death with all the
tin cans around the house."
Although the class was geared toward
PaoA 6
in blender. Let stand 5 or 6 hours, covered
with cheesecloth until it bubbles, then cover
tightly and refrigerate.
If you wish to feed or replenish your
starter, keep it in a plastic or ceramic con
tainer with a lid. Add one cup unbleached
or all-purpose flour and enough tepid water
to make a batter about the consistency of
heavy cream. Let stand, covered, with lid
and a towel at room temperature until the
mixture is light and has a lot of bubbles.
If the container is placed in a warm
place, the action will be faster. Use about
% to 1 cup of the starter for a recipe and
build up the remainder as above. The starter
wiil keep in the refrigerator for three or four
weeks, but it should be used or rejuvenated
at least every 30 days.
After we were familiar with the ingredi
ents, we proceeded to mix, knead and shape
our first loaves of sour dough bread. (Ques
tion: Does dough have to be kneaded? An
swer; Yes, if you want to make any bread!)
Because the session was only three hours
long, we took our bread home to rise and
Thursday. February U