For Starters . . .

There is no pleasure quite like baking your own bread.

As such, I have kicked off a few sourdough starters in my stuttering baking practice. When I think about it, at least 4? Maybe 5?

One of these doomed troopers sat in an old yogurt container on the back of my college stove, much to the horror of my roommates (sorry!) as it went through different cycles of smells. It harbored a population of flies, and that was the end of it.

Later, I upgraded to using a scale for my starter’s daily feeding of flour and water. Starters can be an expensive hobby, as they require chucking the excess in the trash, so I was excited to learn they can be stored in the fridge to slow the yeast’s activity, stretching out the need for feeding. Layers of alcoholic “hooch” would build up over these cultures as they were forgotten behind the pickles, and I would resurrect them from time to time for a loaf. But my chaotic, rootless lifestyle was not conducive to a strong starter.

It is widely agreed that good writing is next to good thinking. Like planting a tree, the best time to have started a blog (and starter) is 20 years ago. Second best is right now. I just hope this doesn’t grow flies.