Each year we ‘buy’ a cherry tree or two from a local orchard and pick the cherries for our personal consumption. It also supports a local pet rescue – bonus!
My husband usually does the harvest but this year I went with him. Another new adventure that I found out I love. Who knew I would enjoy picking cherries? That feeling of finding a beautiful clump of cherries – so satisfying (and delicious!).
We ended up with about 40 lbs of cherries and shared some with our family and neighbours. Another feel-good moment. Then I felt like experimenting.
Over the past few months, I have discovered a love for making sourdough. I’m still learning but gaining confidence. So I thought – I wonder what a fresh cherry sourdough loaf would be like? I searched for a recipe for fresh cherries in a sourdough and could not find one.
Enter the experimentation. I decided to add fresh cherries to my favourite sourdough sandwich bread recipe. What did I have to lose by trying?
Experimenting
I made the sandwich sourdough bread recipe, added the cherries, and well … Let’s just say I was thinking “Epic fail”. The dough was extremely wet. The cherries did not look like they went into the dough at all. I was disappointed. But I thought, let the fermentation do what fermentation does and see what came out of it.
So I waited… and when I looked at it, I was surprised. It looked like actual dough! When I turned it out though, it seemed like a big wet blob. I couldn’t shape it into a nice loaf. I dusted it with a little bit of flour – just enough so I could manage to roll it up – and then finished the process. Let it do a final rise and then into the oven. I was still nervous…
Discovery
So what did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing! OMG it was absolutely delicious. I am so glad I pushed through. And when I cut into it, it actually looked artisan. Then toast it, add butter… DIVINE.
Confidence
I never considered myself a baker or a good cook. That identity is starting to shift. I can do hard things. I can experiment. If I fail, I learn something. It’s okay to fail.
Failure, I realize, is just an opportunity to learn.
Have you ever been afraid to try something new because you were afraid of failure?
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