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I just hit 500 sourdough loaves with my starter and the number really got me thinking...
I started keeping a baking log when I opened my business, just a simple notebook. I flipped back today and saw I've made exactly 500 loaves using my original starter, 'Bubbles'. That's a lot of flour and water... It's wild because I remember almost throwing it out after a failed batch around loaf 20. The consistency now versus those first few months is night and day. Has anyone else tracked something like this and been surprised by how much practice it actually took to feel solid?
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emma7681mo ago
The thing about tracking a number like 500 is that it also proves how much waste you've pushed through. Every failed loaf, every overproofed discard, every batch that got turned into breadcrumbs or thrown to the birds - that all adds up to the same 500 count. Nobody logs the sunk costs on the way to that number. Your starter didn't suddenly get better by magic, it survived through a lot of bad flour and bad timing on your part. That log is really a record of all the mistakes you chose to learn from instead of quitting.
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perry.nancy2mo ago
Wow 500 is insane! I totally get that feeling of looking back at old notes and seeing the real number. I started tracking my failed sourdough attempts, not the good ones, and the list was way longer than I remembered. It's easy to forget the messy middle part where everything felt wrong. That log proves you put in the work when it wasn't easy, and that's what builds the real skill. The consistency comes from pushing through all those meh loaves nobody sees.
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