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My neighbor's comment about sourdough starter made me rethink 20 years of baking
I was chatting with the old guy next door while we were both out getting our mail. He mentioned he's been using the same starter since 1987. I've been baking bread for years but always toss my starter after a few weeks and start fresh. He said "you're not baking bread, you're just making dough. The starter is the history." It hit different because I realized I've been treating baking like a science experiment, not a craft. Anyone else have a moment where someone said something simple that made you change your whole approach?
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the_gray2mo ago
Yeah fair point. Makes me wonder what I've been missing out on.
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lucas1592mo ago
Hear me out on this one @the_gray, but I actually think the old guy is romanticizing it a bit. I've kept starters for a year at a time, and honestly after a few months it just tastes like sour and maintenance. You know what's cool? Starting fresh and dialing in exactly what you want for that specific batch. Different flours, different temperatures, different timelines. I think tossing and starting gives you more control not less. The history thing sounds nice but bread is about what comes out of the oven, not what's been sitting in a jar since the 80s. So yeah I push back respectfully on the whole "you're not really baking" angle.
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