Friends, hello.

I spent last weekend in Boston with my son, Graham. On Saturday night, we decided to try the restaurant next door to our hotel. It looked busy, a promising sign, and to our luck, the hostess had a table for two for immediate seating. Sizing us up, she grabbed a hardcover menu for me and a paper menu with crayons for Graham.

Graham is 14 and very short, and this is not the first time a server has mistaken him for a much younger child. Upon seeing the crayons, Graham politely told the hostess he didn't need a kids' menu, and they both laughed as she led us to our table.

Shortly after sitting, our server came by to give us the rundown of the menu, including the oysters of the day, and I ordered a half dozen immediately. Upon hearing this, our server paused and, looking at Graham, asked: "You like oystahs?"

Graham nodded as he listened intently to the server, who, in his thick Boston accent, went on to describe his own son, who, like Graham, is an adventurous eater. After he left, Graham looked at me, smiling while shaking his head, and asked: "What kind of an accent is that? Australian?"

I was dying. Clearly, we have not spent enough time in Boston. Anyway, Friends, it made me laugh.

About this time last year, I created a Sourdough Starter From Scratch Challenge. We had experienced a week of beautiful weather, prime conditions for the project.

This past week, I took advantage of the similarly beautiful weather to revisit the challenge, using water in place of the pineapple juice and paying much more attention to the temperature in my kitchen and the warm spots I created to help my nascent starter thrive.

I did this by investing in an ambient temperature thermometer:

Note: The thermometer is not oven-safe — it can withstand heat up to 122ºF. I move it in and out of my oven, and I have one in my fridge, too. I found that my oven (not turned on and without the light on) was quite a bit warmer than the ambient temperature of my kitchen (which was more like 71ºF). And sometimes (when the lower oven was on), it got dangerously warm (for a starter).

I built two starters this week, both using Cairnspring Mills Trailblazer bread flour and water, and within two days I saw action — rising! — and by day four, the starters were doubling in a timely manner.

Warmth + good flour is a foolproof formula for sourdough-starter-from-scratch success.

Friends, I've created a new sourdough starter challenge, but it won't go live until next Saturday. I want to give those of you who'd like to participate time to get a few tools/ingredients:

Thermometer: I bought the two-pack, but there is a single-pack option.
Good Stone-Milled Flour: As noted, I love Cairnspring Mills Trailblazer Bread Flour, but if you can find stone-milled flour locally, buy it. Truly: Stone-milled flour = rocket fuel for your starter.
2-Quart Dough Bucket: You need something roughly this size to build the starter. I love this one so much. I've sung its praises before, but it is so multipurpose — I use it for rising dough as well. Obviously, anything roughly that size will work.

Just like last year, if you sign up, you'll receive one email a day for 7 days, and I'll hold a few Zoom office hours after the challenge ends. If you'd like to jump in with the recipe, find it here:

How to Build A Sourdough Starter From Scratch

PS: My neighbor left Next of Kin, Gabrielle Hamilton's latest memoir, at my door earlier this week. I started it immediately and haven't found myself so looking forward to bedtime every night since in such a long time. It is so good! If you haven't read Blood, Bones & Butter, you may want to pick that one up, too.

Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lemon-Blueberry Dutch Baby

"Dynamite. My husband loved it! The lemon zest gives it some refreshing bite. Elegant paired with a savory quiche and bacon or sausage side. I loved it with hot coffee and pure maple syrup."

— Lisa