This post was written in the spring of 2020, back when the world suddenly shrank to the size of our kitchen and time felt both endless and oddly fragile. Like a lot of people, we baked. A lot. We watched birds. We named our sourdough starter. And yes, some of those names made sense only at the time.
I’m keeping this story here for old time’s sake. Not as a how-to for surviving anything, but as a snapshot of how good food, small rituals, and a sense of humor helped us get through a very strange season.
Humor was one of our coping mechanisms. In hindsight, the names feel a little unhinged, but at the time they made us laugh and that’s all that mattered.
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Table of contents
These were the days, my friend: 2020 edition
In 2020, it briefly felt like the end of the world as we knew it, though in hindsight it became something else entirely: a strange pause filled with baking, birds, and way too much flour.
Back then, staying home gave many of us an unexpected excuse to start a sourdough starter. Especially since it was hard to find yeast. So we started a sourdough, the way a lot of people did back then.
Sourdough, starting like a Horse with No Name
If you are new to the concept of sourdough, here is a small intro. Basically, it works by harboring the combined forces of bacteria (lactobacilli) and wild yeast. When they party together, they produce lactic acid and alcohol. Not surprising, this alcohol, called hooch, was very popular during the prohibition.
Over time, people have relied on starters and eventually even named them. For example, in our house, we have had Robert, Gertrude and Matilda. Read the article to find out what we named this one.
For a more in-depth history, check out Sourdough: More than a Bread. an NPR article talking about the history of sourdough, even the Egyptians used it and how to start your own.
Our 2020 Sourdough: The Story
March 29th, 2020, on the tenth day of Covid19 Suddenly Full House, it was time to start a sourdough!
In the Beginning of 2020…
In the beginning there was a normal life and we could go places. Until Covid19 reached the USA late January, and life started falling apart. When SARS-CoV-2 showed up in New Hampshire, it didn’t take long before the Governor declared the state of emergency (March 13th). All schools were closed.
Our high-school student transitioned to on-line learning and two of our college students moved back in. Suddenly we were a family of six, most of us studying and working from home.
Of course, during my hippie period, I used to home-school a much larger family, so I have lots of experience feeding a crowd. But still, it was a bit of an adjustment for everyone. Soon, we enlisted everybody to make one night-time meal per week. In addition, my baking addiction kicked in.
Even with all the Covid19 stress going on, it still was spring, so I felt strongly about creating new life. Thus the birth of a new sourdough starter! Thankfully, I was able to get King Arthur flour , and I still had honey from a Vermont friend, so on March 29th, we gave it a go. She was still unnamed.
In addition I planted two onions, thanks to my Polish cousins pointing out that these would give me an endless supply of onion greens. Since they voluntarily had started sprouting in our onion storage, I figured I might as well. Though the picture shows battered onions, I know they will rise from their misery into victorious existence, just like humanity.
Pandemic Pretzels and Pancakes and The Naming
March 30: On the second day of the pandemic sourdough starter, we named her Corona. Since we had been looking forward to going to New York City during the April vacation, we figured instead we could pretend to be there and make not-quite-the-same-but-fun-anyway pretzels.
King Arthur flour has a great recipe for these pretzels. We didn’t have any non-diastatic malt, so I used sugar and they came out just fine. How better to deal with our stress than by eating Pandemic Pretzels?!
OK, I know, by making Pandemic Pancakes! Find the recipe here. They were really good with Vermont maple syrup. Alternatively, you can make pandemic popovers. Yeah, we easily amuse ourselves during this pandemic, what else can you do?
Fly Like an Eagle
On the third day, we totally ignored Corona, and went birding for our social distancing. Not only did we see robins and ducks, we also were happy to discover our eagles Eleanor and Edward! At home, Corona patiently waited for us.
Day 4: Bubonic Biscuits
Every day, I wanted to make something with my new starter, so that I could feed her. So glad that I found a very helpful resource at King Arthur Flour about what recipes work well with discard from a sourdough starter.
Bubonic biscuits! They might not have been the prettiest ones, but they tasted great. Corona was doing well, nice and bubbly in the face of adversity. You can make your own discard sourdough bubonic biscuits with this recipe.
Of course, we still were addicted to eagles, so we did go to watch our eagle nest yet again in our #SocialDistancing of the day. This time, we were sure there was an eagle sitting on the nest, unperturbed by current world issues.
Flattening the curve: English Muffins
Although I had made English muffins before, I never had been totally happy about the way they turned out. This time was different!
Reading through the muffin recipe I was using, I noticed that they recommended to flatten the tops, halfway into the cooking. This made all the difference!
The moment I read that trick, I realized that putting this baking sheet on top of the English muffins simply was “flattening the curve” During these stressful times, it is great that we can help flatten the curve in creative ways.
Sourdough Bread 2020: Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Naturally I also wanted some plain “boring” sourdough bread with our Covid19 starter. In the past I had made those quite often, so I enjoyed going back to my muscle memory of sourdough baking.
My loaves spread out a bit more than I liked, but I still was happy to have very tasty sourdough bread, which toasted beautifully for grilled cheese sandwiches.
2020 Sourdough, Looking Back
First, I am sure y’all want to know what happened to to onions I planted. Well, they really took off and we have enjoyed onion greens from them to add to soups, sandwiches and omelets. At the time, it felt like a small but very real victory.
Second, I hope you enjoyed reading about our sourdough adventures and will create your own starter.
A Note From the Present
Reading this now, years later, the urgency has faded, but the details remain vivid. The starter bubbled on. The onions thrived. The birds kept showing up, pandemic or not.
We’re sharing this as part of a growing lookback series, preserving small stories from a slowed-down world before they quietly slip out of memory.
Have you baked with sourdough before? Do you maybe already have a starter? What did you name them? Please share in the comments.
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