Sourdough and the tragedy of Clementine

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A FRESH batch of sourdough (Photo from Unsplash)

English was the medium of instruction at all school levels when I was growing up. We sang “Land of the Morning” instead of “Bayang Magiliw” and pledged allegiance to “The Land of My Birth and the Home of My People.”

We learned our ABCs from Grade 1. Tagalog was introduced to us as a subject in Grade 3. I was singing “Clementine” long before I learned “Bahay Kubo.” Our music teacher used the song to teach us the meanings of English words in its lyrics: cavern, canyon, excavating, mine, miner, Forty-Niner.

Clementine was the ill-fated daughter of a Forty-Niner, a miner who joined the California Gold Rush of 1849. Life was hard, and their diet consisted of sourdough bread and canned fish. Clementine’s size-nine feet wore sandals made of “herring boxes without topses.” The miners were nicknamed sourdoughs, after their basic staple — a tangy loaf that European immigrants introduced in San Francisco.

The song stayed with me through the years, arousing a curiosity about California, the Gold Rush, and sourdough bread. Finally, in 1977, I was in San Francisco, married to a California native, having sourdough bread and learning all about the Gold Rush in visits to several museums and exhibits.

The trip’s highlight was a jar of sourdough starter from an in-law who swore it came from the original batch introduced by her Italian ancestors when they migrated in 1849. She taught me how to keep the starter alive by feeding it every two or three days, depending on the room’s temperature, adding that the jar could be moved into the refrigerator when our home in Hong Kong or Manila got too hot. Otherwise, it would die.

It took several weeks before I got the hang of baking bread with natural yeast, which is what sourdough starter is. Our North Syquia apartment smelled of yeast at night, replaced by the glorious scent of baking bread in the morning. Once brave enough to experiment, I allowed the starter to mature an extra day or two, which resulted in loaves with deeper flavor and aroma. All my North Syquia neighbors shared the fruits of my labor.

Unique and convenient alibi 
The starter provided a unique but credible alibi for when we wanted to leave a party early.
“We have to go home to feed the sourdough starter, or it will die.”
Who can argue with that?

Have starter, will travel 
When Vic was assigned by Reader's Digest to write about efforts to save the Philippine eagle, we could not find anyone to babysit the starter.

Worried about losing my precious hoard, we divided the starter into three sealed jars. One jar went into the freezer, another into my hand-carried bag, and the last into the lowest part of the refrigerator. I also packed a well-sealed small bag of flour to feed the starter traveling with us to Mount Apo.

At the end of our coverage, the jar I took to Davao flourished. The one in the fridge bubbled a bit and was more sour than when we left it. The frozen starter took a while to thaw uniformly but was usable. Lesson learned: Starters are like babies; they need TLC.

Italian sourdough anytime 
These days, I no longer have the energy or the time to bake bread. My sourdough cravings are filled by an old friend, Jeanne Marfal Manaois, whose very own homemade sourdough focaccia is back on her home delivery menu.

Slowly fermented for 72 hours to break down sugars and starches, her homemade focaccia has a unique deep flavor and tanginess from the extended fermentation, promoting healthy gut bacteria. It is great for those with gluten intolerance and digestion issues; the long fermentation process results in a low glycemic index, which helps keep blood sugar levels more stable.

Jeanne has made available her special homemade classic rosemary and sea salt focaccia for pre-order. Made from scratch. I have tried it plain or dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Makes for hefty rustic sandwiches, too.

Shelf life: Three days at room temperature, two months if frozen. Reheat at 180C for three to five minutes. Please allow four to five days lead time for orders. Jeanne may be reached through her Facebook.

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