Whoa, I actually used to think leaving your starter alone was just lazy or bad for it! But honestly, this post totally flipped my view. I had a starter that sat in the back of my fridge for almost three weeks during a move, and when I finally baked with it, the crumb was way more open than usual, just like you said. But yeah, the sour taste was so sharp my kids wouldn't eat the toast. So now I'm wondering if the extra acidity is what weakens the gluten and gives you those big holes, even though the flavor gets too intense for most people. Do you think there's a sweet spot, like a week of neglect, where the texture improves but the tang is still manageable?

Ask @the_ben if they tracked whether any of that supposedly pointless chatter saved someone from a mistake? A blanket ban might be a cheap way to cut noise, but you lose the signal too if you don't check first. Removing Fridays seems like an easy win until an urgent update sits unseen until Monday.

Doesn't freezing bread change the texture or is it just me?

Used to think scale rulers were all the same too, but your story totally changed my mind on that.

Ugh man I feel your pain so hard. I did basically the same thing with a kit from Lowe's last summer and mine peeled up even faster than yours, like after three weeks. I mean I followed the instructions to the letter, even bought a moisture meter to check the concrete first. It still came up in big rubbery sheets right where my wife parks her SUV. The heat from the tires just cooks it I guess. I spent like two more weekends scraping all that junk off and now I'm just living with bare concrete.