Hot Take on Bread Week
It’s bread week! I was really channeling my inner Great British Baking Show fan girl for this week. Especially with all this filming I’ve been doing for Instagram reels. Ben says I become a different person. I can not begin to tell you how embarrassing those are to make but the grind is real, ya know. My favorite part of the videos is actually the voice overs, because I feel like then you can hear the embarrassment in my voice and have some sympathy for me. But I will say, when I look back in 2025 at those videos, I will feel really proud of all things I actually tried and documented. So, go me!
Moving right along to all my thoughts on bread week. There are a lot of thoughts. I am going to start with the most controversial and go ahead and hurt your feelings. Sourdough bread is overrated.
I know, I hate to even say it but it’s just true. I made 4 different types of breads this week and the sourdough loaf almost took me out. The worst part is, I REALLY wanted to be a sourdough gal. You know, like the ballerina farms mom. And yes, she is also very controversial at the moment. But that’s just because everyone is so jealous of her. Of course it is completely unrealistic to go to a beauty pageant 8 days after giving birth. Of course it is laughable to think I can manage an entire farm, 8 children, a social media account where people trash you, working out for Mrs. American, and making sourdough loaves like it’s an afterthought to your day. Who is watching those reels and thinking, “wow, she is so relatable!”
So yes, back to my hot take. I am very much into being cozy and comfortable. Which I think is most people, but still.. I often measure out the pleasure/work ratio to make decisions. For example, my husband is desperate to get a puppy again. But I’ve been there and done that. The amount of work it takes to train a puppy and then, just in general to take care of a full grown dog is just not equalling out in the pleasure/work ratio. And if you don’t already know this about me, you will probably think less of me now, but I just don’t really love animals. So feeding, walking, picking up poop for something that I already don’t particularly enjoy, just isn’t doing it for me.
Okay, so now that you understand the ratio, you’ll understand why spending 2 days making a loaf of bread is not going to be my new hobby this year. My oldest son ate a couple of pieces, it started getting kind of crusty so we made French toast later in the week, and there is still half of a loaf just sitting not the counter. The ratio is not ratioing. And before all the sourdough fanatics come for me! Just know that I think you are way cooler than me. You’re a better homemaker, more patient, care about your family’s gut health more. Just all around, I think you are amazing and I would absolutely love for you to drop off a loaf of your sourdough bread. I just do not foresee myself continuing to make my own loaves for pleasure.
And let me just also say, that the amount of science that goes into making a sourdough loaf is extremely offputting to me. I failed 2 college science classes my freshman year and my brain cannot compute. Like why are we pulling out scales in our kitchens?? This is not a science lab. (Although, Lessons in Chemistry was a super cool book - minus the hardcore atheist take - if you are into science and cooking)
And another thing! I make this insane loaf of bread and I’m really on a high because I did not think it was going to turn out at all. But then, I see this girl on Instagram telling me that those giant holes in my bread mean that I under proofed it and that’s why it’s so chewy. And when I am not immediately good at something, I have a really bad attitude and immediately quit. So that’s probably exactly what’s happening here but we are going to move on anyways.
Alright, so just to be clear, I still like sourdough! We have actually had our sourdough starter for a couple years now and it’s over 100 years old! So I definitely feel some pressure to keep it alive and well. My favorite bake of the week was actually a sourdough discard recipe. That is the kind of sourdough I am here for. You just add it to any recipe and all of a sudden, you are a step above the rest. Because this isn’t just banana bread, it’s sourdough banana bread. You know what I mean?
The only reason I decided to go for the banana bread was because we had 4 very ripe bananas I really didn’t want to toss but my kids hate banana bread, so it was kind of a last minute decision. Which is pretty much the way I live my life, so a sourdough discard recipe that takes 1 hour start to finish is exactly what I am looking for. During that bake, I also realized halfway through I didn’t have the 2 eggs it called for, but somewhere deep in my memory was this idea that applesauce can be an egg substitute? Not sure if that is true, but I did put a cup of applesauce in the batter and it was my favorite banana bread I’ve ever made. So take that as you will.
And, the shocking part, my kids ate the banana bread. So that is the win for the week. The bananas were saved and the sourdough starter was used. Hooray!
Okay on to the more boring bakes. The naan was also a last minute thing. We were having butter chicken and I forgot to buy naan at the store, so it being bread week and all, I decided I could just make it. I was half way through with the meal though, so it was not well planned at all. I used rapid yeast hoping that would speed things along but truthfully I only let the dough rise for 10 minutes and was just like, whatever. That recipe also called for something I didn’t have - yogurt. So I went really rouge and just used heavy cream. So probably not the move there, but Ben was my biggest fan on this bake and said that everyone else was making them wrong and to always make them in a rush.
And the finale, which was actually the first bake I did… the sandwich bread. This felt like the most practical item for me to learn how to make because our kids go through 15 sandwiches a week for school. That’s basically 2 loaves. And we really do try to eat pretty clean, so buying 2 loaves of Dave’s every week was killing me. So I went to Pinterest, as any aspiring baker would, and found a random screen shot of someone’s bread recipe they posted on a Facebook comment. It felt so random that I knew it was going to be the best recipe. It was not.
The loaf was so pretty though. And honestly really easy and quick, which we now know is a big selling point for me. But the texture was too light and fluffy, not dense enough to make a good sandwich with. Which probably means I messed it up but we are just going to move on to a different recipe next time. But look how mature I’m being about my failure! As I type out this blog, a new sandwich bread loaf is being baked. That’s progress, friends.
So all in all, bread week feels like a success! I don’t love making bread…but I see the practical side to it and will most likely continue on. I also feel like I might start to enjoy it more when I get a better feel for it. I loathe using recipes, so once I can eliminate that step, I’ll be able to have more fun with it.
The older I get, I’m realizing that I don’t have to like things just because everyone else does, or everyone else thinks I should. I can just try things, and decide for myself! But I also know that I don’t like to try new things, because I hate being bad at new things. So knowing those 2 things, and holding them in tension with one another will be the key to success in this journey. I know I have to push myself out of my comfort zone some more, but it’s okay if I never make another sourdough loaf in my life too.