My aunt watched me bake a sourdough loaf and just said 'that's a lot of work for bread'

She saw me do the whole stretch and fold process over 4 hours and the starter feeding for 2 weeks before that, and it made me wonder - is all the effort actually worth it for the taste, or are we just doing it for the process itself? Anyone else have a family member who made them question why they bake the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_holly15d ago

The "needy pet" thing is so real. My friend Jen has been growing a starter since last March and she named it "Bartholomew." She literally talks to it. Anyway, her brother saw her feeding it every day and asked if she was trying to keep it alive for a science fair project. She told him it was just for bread and he said "you're doing all that for a loaf you could buy for 4 bucks at the store." It kind of killed the mood for her. But then she brought a fresh loaf to his house and he ate like half of it in one sitting and asked for the recipe. So I guess the payoff is real, even if the process makes you look crazy.

lindaowens29d ago

My starter is basically a needy pet at this point.

the_cameron29d ago

Ngl @lindaowens I bet you could get a decent side hustle going selling off some of that discard if you feed it regularly. People pay good money for mature starters online, pretty much like selling sourdough puppies.