Ruth Allman - Alaska Sourdough, Revised Edition: The Real Stuff by a Real Alaskan

Text and Illustrations 1976 by Ruth Allman

All rights reserved.

First printing 1976

This revised edition 2021

Photography credits: Cover StockFood / Paluchowska, Magdalena;

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Allman, Ruth, 1905-1989, author. | Studebaker, Addie, writer of foreword.

Title: Alaska sourdough : the real stuff by a real Alaskan / Ruth Allman ; foreword by Addie Studebaker.

Description: Revised edition. | Berkeley : Alaska Northwest Books, 2020. | Includes index. | Summary: A revised edition of sourdough expert and historian Ruth Allmans bestselling book, Alaska Sourdough includes updated recipes and tips on all things sourdough, plus a new foreword by Addie Studebaker-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020057462 (print) | LCCN 2020057463 (ebook) | ISBN 9781513262819 (paperback) | ISBN 9781513262826 (hardback) | ISBN 9781513262833 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking (Sourdough) | Cooking--Alaska. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX770 .A44 2020 (print) | LCC TX770 (ebook) | DDC 641.81/5--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057462

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057463

2021LS

Proudly distributed by Ingram Publisher Services

Published by Alaska Northwest Books
an imprint of

WestMarginPress.com

WEST MARGIN PRESS

Publishing Director: Jennifer Newens

Marketing Manager: Angela Zbornik

Project Specialist: Micaela Clark

Editor: Olivia Ngai

Design & Production: Rachel Lopez Metzger

Who mined at Circle and Klondike creeks,

Who camped at Nome, neath Anvils peaks

Who founded Fairbanks, opened its mines,

And prospected where the Iditarod twines;

Who built its town, its roads and trails,

Who planned its railroads, and laid the rails,

Who guide in council, in creating homes,

And in laying a States foundation stones.

Judge James Wickersham
18571939

An Eskimos Interpretation of Fast Day.

by Addie Studebaker

Food was scarce. You rated as a millionaire if you had plenty of grub, even though not a dime in your jeans. Provisions were more valuable than gold. One had to eat! Ruth Allman

A pioneer should have imaginationshould be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves. Willa Cather, O Pioneers!

Y ou might be holding this book in your hands right now because youre interested in learning the secrets of sourdough or wish to add to your sourdough repertoire. Maybe youre a bit of a historian, or you simply like the idea of the pioneering life and want a taste of it. Or maybe its Alaskayou have some immediate connection to Alaska, or, like many before you, you find yourself drawn to its mystery and allure.

Any way you slice it, youre in luck: Ruth Allmans words, recipes, and sketches, unchanged and still sought out after nearly four decades, somehow magically embody all of these, the way modern Alaska, even with its highways and chain stores, still embodies an authentic pioneering spirit, automatically plopping it over our heads upon arrival like a scratchy wool cap instead of a lei.

Not that pioneering is particularly hard to come by; there may be nothing new under the sun, but there are more than a lifetimes worth of new things to pioneer, to sink our teeth into (both literally and figuratively). Its what keeps us equal parts honest and fanciful. After all, to be a pioneer is to largely reject pretenseyoure too busy surviving in your new endeavors for thatand yet, its difficult, if not impossible, to forge into any unknown without some measure of blind, silly hope.

Knowing what there is to be known about Ruth Allmans life in The Last Frontier, it seems she was an expert at navigating this fissure between hardness and humor and had a special talent for helping others do the same. In the 1930s, with a degree in music, she picked up and moved to Alaska to live with her aunt and uncle, the Wickershams. She married and moved to the wilderness and only four years later, her husband would succumb to cancer. Ruth would then return to Juneau to care for her aunt, and it was during that time that she managed to establish The Wickersham House as a national historical site in the center of the states capital.

The ingenuity of that endeavor not only helped Ruth afford to care for her aunt, but also preserved one of the most extensive and pristine collections of early Alaskan writings, art, and historical artifacts, acquired by her uncle, Judge James Wickersham, and dating back well over the previous century.

Ruth would then see her own writing, years worth of sourdough knowledge and expertise, published in 1976, and her recipes featured in countless national publications. She would continue to give tours and talks at The Wickersham House while serving her legendary flaming sourdough hotcakes and waffles until her passing at age 84.

It seems clear that one of her anchors in experiencing the rough pioneer life (and the equally rough ups and downs of normal life) was sourdough. And it makes perfect sense, doesnt it? Theres immeasurable comfort to be found in a heaping pile of fresh sourdough hotcakes for one thing (), not to mention the immense pride in the starter itselfnurturing it, growing it, sharing it. (Ruth gives us plenty of hints and patient instruction throughout.) But theres also the fundamental wildness and unpredictability of natural yeast that, like any and all of the wildness that still exists on this earth, instinctually attracts and repels something in all of us. And keeps us busy.

Many times, we prefer to leave it to the expertsto watch safely and conveniently from afar the process of engaging with the wild, whether its watching a TV survival show or buying a loaf of bread. But there is great, visceral creative joy to be found in getting in there ourselves: incarnations of our ancestors holed up in our cozy kitchens, mad scientists working with what weve got and contending with the mysteries of fermentation. Its that journey itself that brings out the tall tales and the rich anecdotes that sweeten and deepen our flavors with time; that inspire the kind of glittery language that sings off a page the way Ruths recipes and stories do in their handwritten swirls and curls.

So, I invite you to pioneer through the second edition of this cookbook. We think youll find, as many have throughout the years, that it is simply and uniquely filled to the bubbling brim with the good stuff, the really, really good, hard-to-find stuff of true pioneering grit, wackiness, and adventure as well as a few secrets to taming the fabulous food that fueled the fervor: ALASKA SOURDOUGH!