Beatles VS the Beach Boys - Jesus and Klecko's Sourdough Recipe.

Each summer, on Memorial day Danny Klecko fills his bread truck with the collective works of a band that he likes, but might not be familiar with the majority of the groups B sides.

As you can imagine, each year finding the quintessential band can become a little more difficult.

This summer I decided to go with the Beach Boys. I looked on line, and I noticed they had about a million albums.

Klecko usually is not a fan of bands debut albums. Usually it takes a group a few years to learn how to utilize production values.

The last thing I want to do is sample their guinea pigs.

So, the big question for me was what Beach Boy albums did I need to secure?

In moments which pertain to music, film, poetry or literature, I usually bypass Google and just call my friend Mike Finley instead.

The mind of Mike Finley is kinda like a search engine with a little rust, but I love the fact that he is willing to attach passionate opinions to fact.

Yesterday at my Austrailian Retail sale, Mike swung by and brought me 3 Beach Boys compilation discs that were chalk full of surf essentials.

They were so cool, he took time to burn them with the songs in specific sequencial order, and the cases had Beach Boy photos inserted with the song menus printed on top.

Now one thing you have to know about my mentor of culture, is that he is a die hard Beatles fan, and maybe thats why he is a little more cynical than me in lifes outlook.

I like to think our different perspectives help keep us balanced.

Maybe that's why he is more like John Lennon, thoughtful, concerned, but always in command of viewing the world through his peripheral vision.

Where his student Klecko is more likely to find the cup half full while wasting away on a beach with thoughts that seldon encompass the world.

While customers were shoving Vegemite / Golden Raisin / Date / Walnut loaves into their bags, I mentioned to Mike that if I recalled correctly, my band of the summer, and his all time favorite band kinda hated each other.

My ignorance made Mr.Finley recoil in sorrow.....

"No, I don't know where you got that, but without the Pet Sounds album, the Beatles would have never recorded Sgt Peppers. I'm telling you, that album had a hypnotic effect on Paul!"

I think peoples perception of their future has a big affect on how they view things during present moment.

Danny Klecko has pretty much always believed in the whole Jesus thing, but not nessisarily the Jesus stuff you have been taught.

I've had my own conversations with the the Christ - lol.

Do you think I trust a single one of you to rep Klecko to the Almighty?

I really don't think our additudes are chosen, I think a lot of my postive way of looking at things is just genetic.

I was born that way.

So, recently I've been talking to Jesus, and trust me....I'm not pushing my scene on you, I'm just telling you from the bottom of my heart that this is the conversation that I tossed at the Messiah.

"First off Jesus, it is not mine to complain, I have had a great run, but I have to be honest with you. I am hurt that you didn't select me to bake the loaf for the Last Supper. I so would have loved that gig, but...If you will just take a minute to process my supplication, Danny Klecko want's to bake for the first throw down of the next earth age.

I'm not gonna fight over whether there is a rapture, or a judgement day where people wait in line almost as long as they do at the DMV, but Jesus...please give me dibs on baking for your feast, you know the one...where the lion lays down with the lamb, and everybody holds hands like they do in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and gives glory to you.

I don't even want a golden halo, or wings like those Victoria's Secret Angel looking models.

I just want to be in the back room making my sourdough for you, for the world, for a moment....maybe the first moment where all of us are as positive as I am when I drive down I-94 with the Beach Boys "Wouldn't It Be Nice" blaring."

Watch and see.....I believe with all of my heart that when that day comes, my wish will come true.

If you don't want to have to die to sample Klecko's all time greatest creation ever, here's the recipe.

TRADITIONAL POLISH SOURDOUGH -

2 Packages of active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup of brick starter (see recipe in previous post)
4 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1 table spoon of apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoon of salt

You'll want to incorperate these ingredients in a bowl. I'm not going to use a Kitchen Aid mixer because the dough is so dense, you'd almost certainly snap your shaft.

So knead the dough by hand.

Sourdoughs are going to require some lengthened resting time so you can increase your fermentation.

The length of this time will really depend on how hot it is in your kitchen.

I'd knead it until is becomes somewhat pliable, almost gaining a Play-Doh texture. Or, think of potters clay, if you can obtain that consistancy, you are off to the races.

When you are finished kneading, you can toss the sourdough into a greased Tupperware and either leave it on your kitchen table, or place it in your fridge.

What we are looking for is our dough to double in size.

If it is on the kitchen table in July, it could double in an hour to an hour and a half, but if it were Christmas....the floor time could double, or triple.

Real sourdough geeks will toss it in the fridge at bedtime, and then form loaves the following morning.

Like anything else, the more you play with this, the better understanding you will have of it.

This recipe should make 2 nice sized loaves.

OK, now that you know that this is the bread that will eventually be served to Jesus, I can see where you might be intimidated, but who knows...if you even put forth even a little bit of effort, there's always room for 2 in a kitchen!

In closing....just out of curiousity,

This isn't just about me, how about you?

Are you Pet Sounds or Sgt Peppers, and why?