Sourdough Starter + Rustic Crackers with Logan Sawtelle | Sunday 05.04.25 @ 1pm
There are a handful of challenges that come with the territory when it comes to the sustainable practice of at-home sourdough. While maintaining a healthy well-fed starter is certainly top-of-list, if you're not making use of your discard, you're throwing away a valuable resource that can be used in everything from pancakes and waffles to muffins, quick breads and yes...crackers!
Sourdough is a whole vibe and finding your groove requires a bit of science, a lot of patience and as much creativity and passion as you've got. In this workshop, we'll tackle the basics of sourdough starter including all the tips + tricks to set you up for a bubbling success.
We'll explore the advantages of milling your own flour, and the unique characteristics that various wheat berries can bring to your bake while we whip up a batch of whole wheat crackers made from sourdough discard and flecked with flaky sea salt.
Before the afternoon is done we'll have a taste of Logan's beloved sourdough focaccia straight from the oven, along with a nosh on some crackers and cheese, then send you off with a jar of your own sourdough starter to experiment with at home!
ABOUT THE CHEF
Though originally from Minnesota, I’ve been in New York for more than a decade. I studied music in college and detoured into luxury fashion and events in NYC before finding myself drawn to the Catskill Mountains and a job in hospitality at Deer Mountain Inn, in Tannersville. Like many folks, I took a turn exploring sourdough during the early stages of the pandemic and in summer 2020 began to bake sourdough recreationally for friends and neighbors and the local farmers market. Through a twist of fate, my efforts ended up gracing the tables at Deer Mountain Inn, and for the last four years my sourdough focaccia has become, for many, a centerpiece of the dining experience there.
A self taught baker led by the pursuit of artisan craft, my youthful pursuits in music, art, and fashion instilled in me a great passion for the slow things in life and a deep interest in delving to the root of making. So many incredible tools and food traditions are pushed aside for the conveniences of modern life. I truly believe there is something restorative in slowing down to pursue these bits of knowledge and applying them to our lives, even in the smallest of ways. Food can nourish our bodies, but there is also power within it to nourish our spirits.
