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What a nice post. I stumbled upon it because of office hours. Forwarding the ashes to the next fire is awesome. A bit like the fire version of sourdough starter :)

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Thanks for reading! I'm actually not familiar with what a sourdough starter is, could you elaborate?

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When we lived in Central California we became enamored with Sourdough bread and the bakery we favored claimed their starter was 80+ years old. Basically adding a little yeast each day and using some for the days bread. That way, when you are eating sourdough bread you are eating a little bit of the past each time. I think there are french bakeries that claim hundreds of years without "killing" the starter.

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Oh wow, that's really cool! Kinda like keeping the seasoning going on a cast iron skillet!

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I am afraid sourdough bread is like all obsessions. As a camper who enjoys the BWCA in Northerm Minnesota I always save our dryer lint and sing the merits of petroleum jelly soaked cotton balls. I did a quick search for the bread of our newlywood days and noted an impassioned message board discussing the secrets of good sourdough. I would imagine there are those who might specify how thick the cast iron pan must be in the ideal state. I love this sort of thing and you made me smile.

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/41485/how-make-bread-san-luis-obispo-sourdough

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