My favorite thing to do during breaks from school is pick up a new, overly ambitious hobby. This year, I decided to be bold and take on a sourdough starter, and let’s just say I learned a few things…
As I was preparing for the end of TikTok (which apparently wasn’t the end ????), I fell down endless rabbit holes of extremely niche topics, most notably, the world of sourdough starters. I was introduced to Gigi (@okaycoolgigi) and her starter, Eloise, and I instantly became obsessed. I felt called to the challenge. Thus, Harriett, my own sourdough starter, was born on December 29, 2024.
On Harriett’s birthday, I was excited and thought this adventure we would take together would go swimmingly! I fed her day after day and was surprised to find that she had doubled in size on day three! Little did I know, it would all go downhill from there. I wasn’t ready to make the loaf yet, so I kept feeding her, not knowing if this was the right course of action for my little overachiever. When I finally was ready to bake, I noticed the consistency of my starter wasn’t where I wanted it, and I had no idea what to do. For a few days, I changed the way I was feeding and the ratio of my flour and water to compensate for Harriett’s thickness. Eventually, I got the consistency I was looking for and began the process. I won’t go into too many details about the baking process, but I can tell you there was a lot of hoping, praying, and trusting the process.
In the end, my sourdough was, in fact, not a sourdough but just an extremely dense and thin loaf of bread. Though I wasn’t left with a gorgeous sourdough, I can confidently say I learned a lot through this process. Here are some of the best lessons I learned from Harriett:
Patience is Key
The day after creating Harriett, I was eagerly waiting to see results and progress. Obviously, I was disappointed to discover that nothing was happening, but that was far from the truth. What I didn’t see was all of the tiny little chemical reactions that were happening within the starter that would help it grow into an active starter. Just because I can’t see the direct and immediate effects of something, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. I just had to be patient and let time work its magic.
Be intentional
As I said before, I got my inspiration and recipe from Gigi on TikTok. As much as I love her content, her recipe was not the most detailed and left out a lot of key information. My excitement and eagerness got the best of me, and I completely disregarded vital details such as perfecting my measurements and the environment I put my starter in. I was blinded by the things I thought were important and completely forgot to care about things that would play the most crucial role in my success.
It is okay to make mistakes
I knew going into this project that most people don’t master sourdough their first time around. However, I still thought that I would be the exception and would make it right the first time around. Quickly, I learned exactly how rare it was to nail it on the first go around. This process requires you to make mistakes and learn from past recipes and trials. From these trials and failed attempts, you learn where you went wrong and try again, making the necessary adjustments. The only way to learn is by making mistakes and getting up and trying again.
While my first attempt with Harriett may not have been the most successful, I’m not scared to try again in the future. Getting the first trial out of the way was the gateway for loads of more attempts in the future. I may not nail it on my second, third, or even fourth try, but I know that with diligence and persistence, I will be successful.