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���When I realized how much people enjoy the bread, I thought, ���This is an easy thing for me to do, to bring a little joy,������ Beckord said. ���I got this wonderful reaction from friends who were so gracious about complimenting the bread and enjoying it.���

Bread has earned a hallowed place in human history. Beckord himself has fond memories growing up in rural Iowa and coming home from school to the warmth, smell and taste of freshly made bread.

He wanted to recapture that memory when he retired after 21 years as president and CEO of Forward Janesville. His friend, Gwen Hazekamp, gave him his sourdough starter���a combination of naturally occurring bacteria and yeast--in 2020

Beckord at first had the normal setbacks, but he soon became confident in his baking and was able to simplify the recipe to suit himself.

Baking the bread is a three-day process. The first day, Beckord feeds the starter with water and flour so it is ���nice and active and bubbly. It turns into the fuel that makes the bread rise, gives it its taste and (makes) it smell so good,��� he said

The next day, Beckord combines the starter, warm water, bread and flour. He mixes that well, separates it into four piles and works the dough every 30 minutes for two hours, stretching and folding until it becomes elastic. The dough eventually doubles, and Beckord cuts each pile in half once again, working out the bubbles and ending with a nice round ball. Beckord has always liked working with his hands.

Beckord soon figured it was just as easy to make four loaves as one. ���Then I realized it���s not so hard to make eight loaves at a time��� he said.

He cools the dough overnight and the next day bakes it for 40 minutes in a red Dutch oven.

Beckord likes to get up close when he pulls the crusty loaf out of the oven. He listens to it ���kind of crackle.��� He���s even taken videos.

Beckord and his wife, Lucy, usually keep one loaf and give the rest away. He bakes at least once a week.

Each loaf costs about 75 cents, not including Beckord���s time. He puts the loaves in professional sleeves with labels that say: ���Dough Ray Me Sourdough Bread: John Beckord, Artisan Bread Crafter.��� The wrappings cost about as much as the bread.

Beckord also includes a sourdough bread fact sheet.

���I don���t know if I can visit my grandkids anymore if I don���t take bread,��� Beckord said. They say: ���Papa John knows how to make good bread.���

���It���s a good feeling, spreading it around,��� Beckord said. ���It reminds me of that time in my life when I loved coming home to that smell and that great taste of homemade bread.���

Beckord wants to keep his baking a hobby despite some offers of payment.

���It���s a way for me to do something that other people really do appreciate,��� Beckord said. ���I have a sense that I���m paying it forward just a little bit.���

Sourdough facts

According to John Beckord���s fact sheet:

• Sourdough bread was developed in Egypt about 3000 BC and spread to Europe.
• The starter is a mixture of flour and water that ferments over time as is colonized by wild bacteria. More than 50 species of lactic acid bacteria and 20 species of yeast live in sourdough starters.
• Sourdough bread is a good alternative to conventional bread as it is richer in nutrients, less likely to spike blood sugar and is generally easier to digest. According to some studies, sourdough bread feeds the ���good��� bacteria in intestines.
• Sourdough bread contains much less gluten than regular yeasted bread.
• One slice of sourdough bread contains up to 7 grams of protein.

Beckord includes this tidbit in his fact sheet: ���When I bake sourdough bread, I give thousands of bacteria and yeast organisms false hope by feeding them flour and water before ruthlessly baking them to death in an oven and eating their corpses!���