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Turning out the dough
Richard Packham, who will be teaching a sourdough cooking class Jan. 13, prepares sourdough to bake three loaves of bread at his home near Dixonville.
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ENLARGE
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Sourdough breads
Bread, rolls and buns made from sourdough by Richard Packham. Recipes for these and more are shown below.
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Baking bread at home saves Richard Packham money. .It’s also healthier, he says, and takes little effort. Still, there’s a simpler reason he’s been baking his own sourdough breads — from whole wheat loaves to barbecue-holding buns to pizza crust — for 35 years.
“Do you really like the hamburger buns you buy in the store?” said Packham of Dixonville. “I thought, there’s got to be something better than that.”
There was, and it came from his own kitchen. Next Tuesday, he’s going to show others how to do it from their kitchens.
A retired college foreign language and computer science instructor, Packham is going to teach the virtues of baking sourdough from home at a Cooking for Charity class Jan. 13 at South Stephens Appliance in Roseburg.
“Do you really like the hamburger buns you buy in the store?” said Packham of Dixonville. “I thought, there’s got to be something better than that.”
There was, and it came from his own kitchen. Next Tuesday, he’s going to show others how to do it from their kitchens.
A retired college foreign language and computer science instructor, Packham is going to teach the virtues of baking sourdough from home at a Cooking for Charity class Jan. 13 at South Stephens Appliance in Roseburg.
When Cooking for Charity board member Paula Ball had a chance meeting with Packham at a Christmas party last month, a session wasn’t lined up for January.
“We got talking about sourdough,” he said.
Packham has thought about leading a class on baking before, but it never worked out. Ball said hopes are high for his first sourdough class.
“He really has a passion for the subject and is comfortable in front of a class,” she said. Proceeds from the class will benefit Winston’s Riverside Center.
Packham bought a sourdough starter while living in San Francisco 35 years ago. A covered plastic container — his sourdough crock, as he calls it — has remained in his refrigerator filled with starter ever since.
“We got talking about sourdough,” he said.
Packham has thought about leading a class on baking before, but it never worked out. Ball said hopes are high for his first sourdough class.
“He really has a passion for the subject and is comfortable in front of a class,” she said. Proceeds from the class will benefit Winston’s Riverside Center.
Packham bought a sourdough starter while living in San Francisco 35 years ago. A covered plastic container — his sourdough crock, as he calls it — has remained in his refrigerator filled with starter ever since.
Cooking class <i>at a glance</i>
<b>WHAT:</b> Sourdough baking class with Richard Packham, benefiting Winston’s Riverside Center
<b>WHEN:</b> 6 p.m. Jan. 13 <b>WHERE:</b> South Stephens Appliance, 1501 S.E. Stephens St., Roseburg <b>COST:</b> $35, tax deductible <b>RESERVATIONS:</b> 679-6129 |
Starter contains a type of yeast that is able to produce gasses, giving baked good their lightness. It offers a different taste and texture than store-bought yeast.
When properly cared for, starter can survive and reproduce itself for years — as it has in Packham’s crock.
“I haven’t bought yeast in four to five years,” he said, adding that anything you can do with yeast, you ought to be able to do with sourdough.
Decades ago, Packham’s doctor told him he shouldn’t eat wheat breads from the market anymore because of a stomach condition. His mother had made breads at home, but he didn’t recall enjoying it.
Today, he’s spoiled by it.
“I generally bake enough that we can freeze most of it and pull out what we need,” he said.
Bread costs him about 20 cents a loaf to make at home. Packham makes croissants, often crafted with margarine. If he uses butter, it costs him about $1 per dozen.
When properly cared for, starter can survive and reproduce itself for years — as it has in Packham’s crock.
“I haven’t bought yeast in four to five years,” he said, adding that anything you can do with yeast, you ought to be able to do with sourdough.
Decades ago, Packham’s doctor told him he shouldn’t eat wheat breads from the market anymore because of a stomach condition. His mother had made breads at home, but he didn’t recall enjoying it.
Today, he’s spoiled by it.
“I generally bake enough that we can freeze most of it and pull out what we need,” he said.
Bread costs him about 20 cents a loaf to make at home. Packham makes croissants, often crafted with margarine. If he uses butter, it costs him about $1 per dozen.
To order sourdough starter
To receive sourdough starter flakes by mail from Richard Packham, send $1.25 for shipping and packaging costs to: Richard Packham, P.O. Box 422, Roseburg, OR 97470.
<b>Please do not send a self-addressed stamped envelope.</b> Allow a couple of weeks for delivery. For more information, including sourdough preparation techniques and recipes, go to Packham’s personal Web site, <a href="http://home.teleport.com/~packham/sourdo.htm" class="link" target="_blank">http://home.teleport.com/~packham/sourdo.htm</a> |
The monetary savings doesn’t cost him a lot of time, either. He works up enough dough for three loaves of bread, kneads it and preps it for baking, all in under 10 minutes.
“It shouldn’t take a beginner (more than) 10 to 15 minutes,” he said.
Beating the dough into shape is as good for the baker as it is the bread, Packham insists. It’s a good workout, along with a stress reliever.
To hear Packham describe the science of sourdough starter and how it feeds on carbohydrates and produces gas and alcohol as
byproducts, it’s clear he enjoys learning about his hobby as much as eating it.
He also enjoys sharing it. Packham started a Web site dedicated to sourdough, with history, preparation techniques and recipes. He even offers sourdough starter by mail to anyone in the United States, asking only $1.25 to cover shipping.
Packham ships the usually gooey starter in a dried, flake form. He averages two or three requests a week, he said, from people all over the country.
“I thought, that’s what the Internet is for — to share stuff,” he said. “I didn’t think anybody would find it or respond to it.”
Attendees at the Jan. 13 class will not only taste and learn to make many of Packham’s sourdough favorites, such as bread, croissants, raisin nut muffins and pizza, they’ll also take home starter of their own. The result might be others coming to the same conclusion about sourdough that Packham did years ago.
“It tastes better,” he said. “It has some body to it.”
• You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
“It shouldn’t take a beginner (more than) 10 to 15 minutes,” he said.
Beating the dough into shape is as good for the baker as it is the bread, Packham insists. It’s a good workout, along with a stress reliever.
To hear Packham describe the science of sourdough starter and how it feeds on carbohydrates and produces gas and alcohol as
byproducts, it’s clear he enjoys learning about his hobby as much as eating it.
He also enjoys sharing it. Packham started a Web site dedicated to sourdough, with history, preparation techniques and recipes. He even offers sourdough starter by mail to anyone in the United States, asking only $1.25 to cover shipping.
Packham ships the usually gooey starter in a dried, flake form. He averages two or three requests a week, he said, from people all over the country.
“I thought, that’s what the Internet is for — to share stuff,” he said. “I didn’t think anybody would find it or respond to it.”
Attendees at the Jan. 13 class will not only taste and learn to make many of Packham’s sourdough favorites, such as bread, croissants, raisin nut muffins and pizza, they’ll also take home starter of their own. The result might be others coming to the same conclusion about sourdough that Packham did years ago.
“It tastes better,” he said. “It has some body to it.”
• You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
