A myriad of universes existing inside one another
Hello friends,
What a week. The Bucs won the Super Bowl, and NASCAR is back. Sports give me life. I also created a sourdough starter. I was busy perfecting my challah while everyone else jumped on the sourdough train, but I'm here now. I even Marie Kondoed the mess of random papers deposited all over my house. I'm not sure where this burst of energy and productivity came from, but I'm making the most of it while it lasts.
Actually, in a weird way, my sourdough starter might be influencing this positivity. His name is Gregg, which is short for Dough Gregg. (If the pun is lost via text, try saying "I'm Dough Gregg" like Noel Fielding covered in seaweed.) I love Gregg now, but our relationship wasn't always mutual. He took his time, putting out some lovely looking bubbles but not growing much in volume. The sourdough guide told me Gregg could take two weeks (or more) to mature, but that didn't stop me from feeling irked by how much time and flour I'd need for this thing.
Gregg was a needy little bastard at first. After his initial burst of activity from a few days of 24-hour feedings, I switched to 12-hour feedings. Twice a day, I'd go through the motions. Stir down, weigh out discard, weigh out flour, weigh out water, mix together, clean up mess, wash dishes. My days were bookended by feedings as I endeavored to cultivate my colony of yeast and bacteria. On more than one occasion, I considered chucking Gregg in the bin and starting this whole thing from the beginning.
I didn't kill Gregg, though, and the moment I made that decision was when I started to care for him. I looked forward to greeting him each morning and tucking him in each night. Each time I fed him, I became more efficient and more attached. This was my starter. I brought him into the world. For the first time in a while, I had something new and precious to care about. Billions of microscopic lives now depended on me.
I'm not sure when Gregg will be ready to bake with, but I think he's close. He's much more bubbly and rising more consistently. The timing isn't critical, though. Tending to Gregg is a meditation, a reminder that everything is intertwined, a myriad of universes existing inside one another.
Shabbat shalom,
Yardena