Photos by Brooke Echols
Baking with sourdough becomes a business
Like many folks, Lissette Dasinger of Montgomery took up the hobby of making sourdough bread during the days of the 2020-2021 pandemic.
“After I had my second daughter, I started my starter from scratch and watched some videos online, like so many others during Covid, and it was so much fun! I just really enjoyed trying to do healthy bread for my family,” she says. “I remember my first bread loaf I made for my family. We ate it in seconds. It was flat but it tasted good.”
In the past three years she has perfected her bread-making skills, and branched out to sourdough cinnamon rolls, maple pecan sourdough scones, and brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies. “My family and my daughters, they inspire me to bake more every time.”
She continued to bake for family and some friends until her daughter was turning 4 and she requested a purple birthday cake. “So I made the cake and it turned out great,” she remembers. “That was 2023. It was last year that my husband said, ‘You should start selling it (her bread),” so she sold a loaf to a friend for $10. “That’s the price you see in this state, so that’s how it started.” And she named her home business “Purple Bakery” in honor of her daughter’s birthday cake.
Since then, she has grown her business which she promotes via her Facebook and Instagram pages. She makes specialty breads for holidays, like a turkey-shaped loaf for Thanksgiving and a pumpkin-shaped bread for Halloween. She takes orders every week, baking early on Tuesday morning and having orders ready by noon. The process starts two days before: on Sunday night she feeds her starter and lets it rise overnight; on Monday morning she mixes her dough, and performs three to four sets of “stretch and folds” every 30 minutes. Then she lets it rest at room temperature (her house is a warm 72 to 73 degrees F) until double in size before storing in the refrigerator overnight (between 12-18 hours) for baking the next day.
She uses a lame, or bread scoring tool that looks like a razor blade, to cut leaf patterns and a curving slice on one side to create an “ear” pattern, which helps the bread expand.
When the loaves are ready to go into the 450-degree oven, she places them on a parchment paper-lined tray. (She recommends beginners use a Dutch oven.) On the shelf below, she uses a tray of lava rocks (preheated) into which she pours hot water to create steam to help create a crispier crust and also allows the loaves to fully rise during their first 15-20 minutes. (Lava rocks not needed for beginners using a Dutch oven.)
After 20 minutes of baking, she rotates the bread and lets it finish for 10 more minutes. The bread will smell wonderful, but she recommends waiting at least an hour before cutting so the pieces will retain their shape. Bread can keep in a bread bag for 5 days, and after that she recommends slicing and storing in the freezer. “You can take out a slice, put in the toaster and enjoy it again,” she says.
Her biggest challenge? The starter. “You never know if it’s going to rise. It humbles you! But your bread is still going to have a very good taste.”
Contact Lissette through her Purple Bakery Facebook account and follow purplebakery_ on Instagram.
-Lenore Vickrey
How to Sourdough
In a clean jar, add 25 grams starter, 50 grams flour and 50 grams water, giving you 100 grams of starter to use in the bread recipe. Rest up to 12 hours until active and doubled in size.
Using a kitchen scale, measure 100 grams of sourdough starter into a clean bowl, followed by 350 grams warm water, 10 grams salt and 500 grams unbleached all-purpose flour.
Combine ingredients with a wooden spoon or clean hands. Cover with a towel and rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold dough at 30-minute intervals for the next 1.5-2 hours, allowing 30 minutes of covered rest time between each for a total of 3-4 stretch and folds.
How to “stretch and fold”: 1.) pull a section of dough upwards stretching it out and folding back down in the center of the bowl. 2.) rotate bowl a quarter turn and repeat 3 more times.
Cover dough with a towel or cheesecloth and set in a warm location until doubled in size. This could take up to 12 hours depending on your dough temperature. Then form into a loaf shape by tucking the ends under the loaf. Place in towel-lined baskets dusted with flour and place in the refrigerator overnight between 10-12 hours for slower fermentation.
The next morning, use a lame to score the dough as you like, then place the dough into a preheated Dutch oven at 450 degrees. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. (You can check your dough temperature and if it is between 200-210 degrees your bread is ready). Let it cool for at least one more hour before slicing.
Let it cool for at least one more hour before slicing.
Sourdough Rolls and Cinnamon Rolls
- 6 cups bread four
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- ½ cup oil (vegetable, canola, corn)
- 1 ¼ cup sourdough starter
In a large bowl, mix bread flour, sugar and salt. Add warm water, oil and sourdough starter. Mix with a spoon until blended. Dough should be soft and somewhat sticky. Add more water if needed. Place in a large oiled or sprayed bowl. Turn dough so the top will be covered with oil. Cover with waxed paper and let stand 8-12 hours until at least doubled in size. Do not refrigerate. This rising is very important and will affect the final rising, so allow up to 12 hours. However, I have had bread to rise in 6 hours.
After dough has risen, punch it down and form into loaves (3-4), dinner rolls (3-4 pans), cinnamon rolls (4 pans), or orange rolls (4 pans). Place the bread into oiled or sprayed pans and brush tops with oil or spray them. Let rise until puffy (6-12 hours).
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. When done, remove from oven, brush with butter (loaves and dinner rolls), remove from pans, and cool on cooling racks.
Cinnamon rolls: Divide the dough into fourths and press each piece into a rectangle. Sprinkle with sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add nuts and raisins, if you like. Roll the dough beginning with the long side. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and lay the pieces, cut side up, sides touching, into an oiled or sprayed 9-inch cake pan. Spray with cooking spray. Allow to rise, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After baking, while rolls are hot, glaze with a mixture of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Cool. (Makes 4 pans.)
Gay White, Cullman EC
The Buttered Home
It seems everyone is on the sourdough train now. A wildly popular trend that started during the pandemic of 2020 is now a well-loved art for those of us who love knowing what’s in their food. I, myself, tried a couple of different times and failed! My oldest daughter, Tannar, is a master sourdough maker and really tried her best to help me. It wasn’t until 2024 that I really got up the nerve to try my hand again at it and stick with it this time. One of the things I learned early on was how to decide on a baking schedule. For me, someone who works two jobs, baking once a week turned out to be the best option. So now, once a week I discard, feed and place “Phyllis” back in the refrigerator to rest until I need to use her again! I have shared a lot of “Phyllis” with my friends and neighbors and always tell them, the starter is worth having even if you only make this ONE recipe with your discard (the portion of your starter that is removed before you feed it). These two-ingredient sourdough discard crackers are simple, wholesome and just plain easy! For more recipes and more sourdough recipes to come soon, check out our website at thebutteredhome.com.
Sourdough Discard Crackers
- 100 grams sourdough discard
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix sourdough starter discard with melted butter.
Spread evenly on prepared parchment lined sheet pan, using a spatula to ensure mixture is spread in an even layer. Optional: top with your favorite seasoning and cheese.
Bake for 5 minutes, remove from the oven and score crackers to desired size using a knife or pizza cutter. Place back in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 more minutes until brown and crisp. Cool, break apart and serve.
