A chat with a regular at my bar changed how I see my sourdough starter

I was cleaning up after a slow Tuesday night when one of my regulars, a retired baker named Frank, asked why I looked so beat. I told him my sourdough starter had died for the third time this year and I was ready to quit. He laughed and said, 'Kid, you're treating it like a pet. It's a tool. Keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week, not every day.' That hit different because I'd been following a fancy online guide that said daily feeds were a must. I tried his way, and after two months, my starter is not only alive but makes a better rise. It turns out all that daily fuss was just making it weak. Has anyone else had a pro tip completely flip a baking habit for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

reese_bell2mo ago

So Frank's advice was about finding the right balance, not just doing less. I wonder if that daily feeding guide was meant for a specific, high-output bakery schedule. Do you think a lot of online advice misses that home cooks have a different rhythm?

angelaellis2mo ago

My buddy was killing himself with stretch and folds every 30 minutes for his bread. A baker told him to just do a few good folds early on and then leave it alone. His loaves got way more open and airy after that, all that poking was just tearing up the bubbles. Sometimes doing less is the real skill.

gavinperez1mo ago

Man, why do we always think more work means better bread? I totally did the same thing when I started, treating my dough like it needed a workout every half hour. Ended up with sad, flat loaves that felt like bricks. That baker's advice is gold, you gotta let the dough do its thing and build strength on its own time. My early attempts were basically me nervously poking all the air out because I couldn't just walk away. Learning to leave it alone was the hardest part for me!