My First Sourdough Experience

Hello, dear readers.

I know it has been a while, but I wanted to provide you with an update. Something that took me pretty much the entire month of July. I’ve been meaning to try this for a while, but I made sourdough bread. From scratch. Including the starter.

It was slow, messy, and definitely tested your patience. It requires a lot of waiting.

Making the starter was a whole process in itself. It felt like taking care of a pet— feeding it every day, watching it bubble and grow, hoping it didn’t die or mold on me. (I may have stared at it too much) But eventually, it came alive (20 days later), and that in itself felt like a small win.

The actual baking part? A little chaotic. The dough was stickier than I expected, the folding part was trickier than I thought, and trying to get the Dutch oven to fit into my oven was a challenge in itself. But somehow… it worked.

The loaf came out imperfect, weighed a ton, and felt like a rock. But once it cooled off, it softened a bit. Although it oddly tasted like a pretzel.

There’s something special about slowing down enough to make food with your hands. Especially in a world that’s constantly rushing. I think I needed this reminder: that good things take time, that things don’t need to be perfect to be meaningful, and that sometimes the best kind of success is just trying something new and sticking with it.

Will I make sourdough again? Definitely.
Will I get better at shaping the loaf? Hopefully.
Will I name my starter? Honestly… probably.

Claudia 🍞🫓🧂

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