The past couple of weeks have been tough. I received a comment on one of my social media posts that they were “bored with my products.” OUCH! I’m not exactly sure how I could entertain this person with candles but clearly my candles are not singing and dancing enough.
That comment got in my head. I grabbed a cup of coffee and went down the Instagram rabbit hole, researching (stalking) other candle companies and found a ton of lovely looking candles, some copycats but I hadn’t found a single dancing candle. I found candles that have money in them or jewelry and a ton of fire hazards. I was getting myself all worked up to the point my home blood pressure monitor clocked me at 133/113. I had to stop doomscrolling.
Then…and I don’t know how…I found SourdoughTok. I put the thought of my boring candles out of my mind and became instantly obsessed with making the perfect sourdough loaf. I have officially watched every sourdough TikTok, Reel and now belong to two different sourdough Facebook groups. I’ve learned new terms like Discard, Float Test and Hooch. I learned that the fancy way to say a ‘round’ loaf of bread is a BOULE. Did you know that a perfect sourdough has a belly and ears? I’d never heard of a banneton before, but now I own two. I own a special whisk because who uses a fork? Peasants, that’s who. I also have a fancy razor blade with a wood handle for cutting decorative marks on my bread before baking.
PS, I was able to find a whole damn kit on amazon for $49 so if this turns out a disaster, I am still way better off than I have been with my other ADHD impulsive craft supply buys. I don’t even want to get into the supply costs when I discovered the Cricut!
Two weeks ago I mixed some flour and water in a mason jar to create my Starter from scratch. I thought to myself how difficult could this really be? All I had to do was remove some every day and feed it more flour and water. As far as recipes go, this was the easiest thing out there. I am here to tell you starter takes on a life of its own. I named my girl Doughlene. She is a hungry bitch but very even tempered, I could barely get a rise out of her, no matter what I adjusted. She has spent time all over my house trying to find the perfect temperature for her, I’ve fed her AP Flour (that’s ALL Purpose for anyone not currently in their psycho sourdough era), given her a taste of wheat which she gobbled up, but then went flat and finally threw a Rye Flour Hail Mary until that bitch eventually bubbled and doubled.
I told Joe making a SD starter was way more difficult than starting or even running a business. I even had a dream a couple nights ago that Doughlene 100Xd herself and my entire kitchen was coated in fermenting ooze. So here we are, Friday October 27, 2023 and I am finally making my first loaf.
She is doing her first rise right now- that will take 2 hours. Then I have to refrigerate her for 4 hours before performing doughagami with a complicated series of twists and folds. If you don’t know what I am talking about, look up sourdough forming on TikTok. There are about 75 million (slightly dramatic number) different techniques, but I think I can manage the candy cane method. Maybe. We will see.
This will be a two-part blog as I would like to take you along on my first loaf or wait, BOULE bread journey.
PS: Did you know that ovens have a Proofing setting? I didn’t. I learned that from the Sourdough Geeks Facebook group. The more you know! *Insert rainbow hands*
Stay Tuned Misfits!
-Lacie
Comments (12)
I recently started my sourdough adventures and I’m having so much fun with it. I hope you enjoy the process.
Now for those candles, LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!! I’m going to need another 3 or 30 soon.
Haters gonna hate. I adore your candles. I just started Anxiety Girl candle on Friday after the week from hell and it totally got me back on track. You are magic!
I would love to know what that hate poster was ingesting in her daily life as I would love to see my candles sing and dance. Come to think of it, I may have seen that one night in college, or it could have been a Disney movie. Hmm. Keep doing what you’re doing, if others try to tear you down, you must be doing something right!
Isn’t it crazy how we can fixate on the negative! Those comments fuck with you everyday😳 suppress that bitch with positive vibes. You have so much to be proud of, you have created an amazing business where we can express our thoughts but don’t dare say. I look forward to my monthly candle and laugh at your postcards. Keep doing what you are doing….the negative in your head does not belong there, unless it inspires you to create. Hugs from Sedro Woolley 🤗
That’s a fantastic switch, making bread is frustrating and then so delicious!!!
Maybe you should make a candle for those of us that just buy the boule.
I recently ran across your products while visiting Seattle and making a side trip to Snohomish. I ordered some for my daughter and brought back some things for my friends. I love my Bitches mug and think you are very creative. Remember that words others say about you are just words and know that while it is good to understand what people say about your products, it is your product and you cannot please everyone. Do what is best for your company because it rocks.
The first time I made sourdough, I came home from work to the real life version of your fermented ooze dream. How the smallish jar of starter turned into a giant mass that dripped down the cupboard and pooled in huge globs on counter and floor I do not know. I do know it took several curse filled hours to clean and that my apartment smelled like a brewery for a week.
I personally would not have the patience for this, but I am anxious to see the fruits of your labor. As for the person who said they were bored with your products, I personally don’t think there’s a damn thing boring about them. I also believe that if anyone were able to create a candle that could sing and dance, it would be you. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t let the haters get to you.
Nope – not doing it. As much as I LOVE what you’re doing (and real sourdough bread) and wish you and Doughlene the very best, nope, nope, nope.
I went down the Friendship Bread rabbit hole in the mid 90’s and It not only took over my life but the lives of friends and family and their friends and families and they all ended up hating me when it was my boss who started it!
I finally let the last batch die a slow, agonizing death on my kitchen counter until I was sure it was dead.
I’m so personally invested in this bread journey. Best thing about recipe rabbit holes is getting to eat the results (for better or worse)!