the starter

The sour starter that bread is led from — in Sowerby's kitchen custom the wedding bread is set from starter seven days before the wedding. Starter rises on its own if you give it warmth and time; kneaded too hard, it falls. It is kept in a covered trough by the oven. They say in Sowerby that people are like starter: you can't knead them down all the way — you have to give them warmth and time. The starter set on the first day of the counting comes back at the end as the broken wedding bread on the table.