The Weekly Whisk 🥣 10/17/25

Jen Vondenbrink
Oct 16
4 min read

Finding “Growth” in Sourdough

The adventure of Appetite for Life has been an interesting one. Back in 2009, I started posting pictures of my Gingerbread House on my Facebook Page. It was so much fun to see people’s comments that after that, I started to post “What’s for Dinner?”

Weekly Wisk 10/17/15 | Gingerbread House | Appetite for Life

One of my first Gingerbread Houses

As you can see from the picture, my photography was pretty rough and ready. A reminder I always have when I’m starting something new. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Give it a go and you will learn along the way.

We’ve grown together from Facebook posts, to the Facebook Group, now the Appetite for Life Cooking Club, and even ventured into online and in-person cooking classes. It has been a wonderful experience.

This year, I’ve been experimenting with solidifying the Appetite for Life Cooking Club, and this is part of the next iteration - The Weekly Whisk.

I love writing, sharing, and inspiring others. That is what this newsletter is all about. You are going to get to see behind the scenes of Appetite for Life. What’s gone right, and what perhaps has flopped, fallen, or frankly burnt.

Let’s dive in.

Every week I make bread or buy a loaf of bread I’ve never had from a local bakery. I started to learn how to make bread in 20024, way before the current sourdough craze. Well, this week, things aren’t looking so great.

I took my starter out of the fridge on Saturday to let it warm up before feeding it. If some of you are new to sourdough, you don’t have to feed your starter every day. You can feed it, let it start to activate, and then put it in the fridge until you want to make bread. When you are ready, take it out the day before to wake it and feed it to build its strength. That was my intention over the weekend.

Well, things got busy, and the starter sat there, and sat there. It wasn’t until Tuesday 😳 that I took a look at it, and we were in desperate trouble.

A skin had formed on the top, and it smelled like old cheese. Yuck. I felt like calling 911. Instead, I scraped off skin and scooped out the little starter that was left. I put it in a clean container, fed it, and hoped for the best. Here’s the result.

Weekly Whisk 10/17/25 | Sourdough Starter | Appetite for Life

Day one - the starter is a little weak, I’m hoping it will make it.

Day two - the starter is getting a little better. I’m seeing activity.

Day three - we are on a roll - bubbling and smelling like it should. I’ll be able to make bread this weekend (literally, I took this picture last night)

Lesson of the week - don’t give up. Even when things don’t look (or smell) good, there is something that can be done.

I went on this week to experiment with recipes for an Easy Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken, Leek, and Mushroom Pie (a masterpiece), Maple Breakfast Sausage, and a Savory Bread Pudding that I’m still trying to name. Be on the lookout for these recipes coming soon.

What have you learned from situations that haven’t turned out the way you thought they would?

Ask Jen

Q: I know there is a lot of sugar, salt, fat, and preservatives in many foods. What can I do to reduce those items in my meals?

A: This is a great question, and over the coming weeks, we’ll dive into more specific areas such as gluten-free, reducing fat, adjusting spices, etc. But in general, my recommendation is, if at all possible, cook your own meals.

Pre-packaged foods are full of additional ingredients, or ingredients are overly used to enhance their flavor and make them last longer.

When you make things at home, you may not get the shelf life that you would get from a store-bought item, but you know what’s in it.

This is one of the reasons I make my own bread. If you look at many store-bought breads, especially in the US, there are a lot of additional ingredients.

Take a look at these two labels. One is from a bread that states it is 100% Whole Grain, and the other states it is an organic bread with 21 grains and seeds. Notice the ingredient that follows the main source of flour - sugar and organic cane sugar. Although they both host many healthy ingredients, there are a lot of things in these breads that perhaps don’t need to be there.

Bread is essentially flour, water, yeast (potentially if you aren’t using a natural starter), and salt, which can even be optional. When you make your own bread, you can add the type of flours you want or any other ingredients such as olive oil, molasses, nuts, and seeds, and you get to choose.

I’m not saying you have to make your own bread, but consider the things you buy, and is there a way to make them from scratch so you can control the ingredients?

Here’s my Everyday Sourdough Bread Recipe if you are interested.

This Week's Favorites

Flaky Crust Bakery in Norton now has Thanksgiving Dinner Pies ready to pick up frozen and is taking Thanksgiving Pie Orders.

10-inch Pizza Pan by LLoydsPans - I make pizza every Friday in the Fall and Winter, and this is my go-to pan. It makes everything so easy. Great for Massachusetts Bar Pizza as well. They have different sizes as well as Detroit Deep Dish pans.

Banneton Bread Proofing Baskets - these are the baskets I use for my bread. I definitely recommend the liner, especially if you are new to bread making.

Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven - I use this to bake my bread. You may be able to find a cheaper version at Target, or if you are in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, check out Ocean State Job Lot. Don’t get an enamel-lined pan because, under the constant extreme heat, the enamel can chip.