Is it just me or does sourdough starter care take over your whole kitchen?

I started my first starter back in March after a friend gave me some of her discard. Three months in and I've got two jars going, a heating pad, and a scale that lives on the counter now. My wife says I've turned the kitchen into a science lab. But here's the thing - my first few loaves were dense bricks, and now I'm getting decent oven spring. Someone on a baking forum told me to stop overthinking the feeding schedule and just go by smell and bubbles. That changed things for me. Still, I wonder if I'm making this harder than it needs to be. Has anyone else had their starter routine take over their counter space?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa3mo ago

The heating pad totally took over one corner of my counter and now it looks like I'm nursing a pet yeast back to health. At this point I'm just accepting that half my kitchen is a science experiment and the other half is for actual food.

wesley_martin2mo ago

Notice how once you get into any niche hobby, the stuff starts claiming territory in your house like it's colonizing new land. It's just how we are as humans, we find something we love and suddenly half the kitchen belongs to flour and bubbles.

cooper.phoenix3mo ago

The real problem nobody talks about is how your starter changes what you can actually cook in your kitchen. I had to rearrange my entire layout because my starter needs a warm draft free spot right next to the stove, which means my cutting board had to move across the room. Now I'm bumping into cabinets every time I chop veggies. My husband pointed out that I've basically turned the kitchen into a one person operation because nobody else can find anything anymore. I've got a jar of starter in the fridge, one on the counter, and dried flakes in a baggie for backup. It's like having a pet that never sleeps and controls your counter space.