What are stars doing with an inordinate amount of time on their hands amid the coronavirus crisis? Baking bread, of course!
Since most celebrities have been in quarantine (like the rest of us) since some point it March 2020, it’s no surprise that a handful of them have taken this opportunity to expand their culinary skill set by baking a nice loaf (or two, or three) of bread.
Take Padma Lakshmi, for example. While the Top Chef host obviously possesses an enviable amount of cooking and baking knowledge, even she is new to the world of bread-making, at least part of it. “Today I’m going to do something I’ve never done before,” the Love, Loss, and What We Ate author declared in an April 6 Instagram video. “I’m going to make sourdough starter, so wish me luck!”
A sourdough starter, also called levain, is a fermented dough filled with natural, wild yeast and a bacteria called lactobacilli. It’s what makes sourdough bread rise and is therefore a crucial first step to baking one of these savory treats.
As Laksmi noted in her Instagram caption: “Cooking and baking are two of the main things giving me joy right now. Hearing about little acts of kindness during this time has also made it a bit easier.”
Another star who has jumped on the sourdough bread train is Pink, who was having a little bit of trouble with her process. “This is my question, sourdough peeps out there: I made a starter about four or five days ago and it says to not throw out your discard everyday, so I attempted to make fried bread with it,” she explained in an Instagram video on April 14. “But you can see, the inside isn’t cooking. What am I doing wrong?”
Many of the singer’s Instagram followers noted that her sourdough issues likely stemmed from the fact that the temperature of her oven was too high. “Try low and slow,” one advised.
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For Splitting Up Together alum Jenna Fischer, it’s all about sandwich bread. The avid baker, and bread aficionado, whipped up a loaf of white bread when her family ran out of the all-important sandwich ingredient while in quarantine in March. The Hall Pass star has also baked sourdough cinnamon sugar popovers and brioche cinnamon rolls.
Scroll down to see more stars who are making bread while in quarantine!
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