Paula McIntyre’s loaves and the fish: sourdough with mushrooms and plaice with pickled cucumber

During the lockdown it seemed everyone was making sourdough bread. Yeast was in short supply and the obvious solution was to go back to the original way we made bread. It’s naturally leavened which means it doesn’t use yeast to rise but a “starter” is used instead. This involves fermenting flour and water to produce wild yeast and good bacteria. Like commercial yeast it will cause the bread to rise but will give it a tangy flavour and more structured texture.