How Sourdough Became My Gateway To A Better Life

Every stretch and fold gently ushered me back into patience, presence, and appreciation for the process, not just the outcome.

Somewhere between the social distancing and isolation, a new hobby was not so quietly being born. Grocery stores were ransacked of unbleached white flour, distilled water, and salt. Videos plagued For You pages, teaching viewers how to do the perfect stretch and folds. Photos flooded Facebook groups, showing off the novice chef’s newest crumb shot.

Women around the world were flocking to the internet in search of the coveted sourdough starter. Fresh, homemade bread was everywhere.

I thought I was immune to the pull of the sourdough baking epidemic until one cool December night, I felt the calling for something more. A homemade loaf of bread, just like my ancestors used to make. It was an ache I couldn’t satisfy with Wonder Bread alone. Determined, and with a new sense of confidence thanks to Sourdough Sparrow, I gathered my ingredients and began the long, daunting task of growing a sourdough starter.

It had been a long journey of meticulously feeding my starter night after night, always ensuring I had the ratios just right. After many failed attempts and questioning my life choices, I had done it. A fresh, bubbly sourdough starter was born, ready for all my baking needs. Excited to test out my new creation, I whipped up my first loaf of bread with relative ease and never looked back, fusing my personality with that of a sourdough baker. Self-sustainability and a bigger waistline, here I come.

What started as a fun hobby for many during the COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a movement. Even Taylor Swift herself admits to jumping on the sourdough bandwagon. I joined the craze about two years ago, admittedly after its initial boom in 2020. Originally a good way to pass the time during COVID lockdown, sourdough baking has evolved into something far greater than anyone could imagine.

A Cleaner Way of Living

When I started baking bread, I also began questioning a lot of the ingredients in our food. Why does bread at the grocery store contain upwards of 30 ingredients when I can make my own at home with just flour, water, and salt? Are all those ingredients actually necessary? And how are those added ingredients affecting our long-term health? I couldn’t be the only one asking these questions.

As my search for understanding grew, so did my many questions.

As my search for understanding grew, so did my many questions. Curiosity led me to investigate every food and personal care product I purchased, forcing me to educate myself on ingredients and my general health. Quickly, I realized that many of the products I consistently grabbed had troubling ingredients, and switching to more natural options was easy and wouldn’t actually break the bank as I had originally assumed. Over time, I began making these swaps, as well as cooking from scratch a lot more. I was shocked by how satisfying it was to prepare a healthy, hearty meal completely with my bare hands.

Now, I rarely purchase premade food and have simplified my personal care and home products as well.

The Move to Self-Sustainability

Knowing exactly what goes into our food and personal care products is powerful. When we can make or source these things ourselves, that power multiplies. Baking sourdough became the starting point for my shift toward a more self-sustaining life.

I took up gardening and began growing my own food shortly after my sourdough journey began, renting a plot at my local community garden. It’s been far easier to grow food than I originally expected, leading to more veggies than I could have imagined. This surplus then led me to learn how to make healthy preserves and can food so it stays shelf-stable throughout the winter.

Growing herbs is another easy, beginner gardener option. I’ve grown dill, thyme, mint, oregano, basil, and sage all on my small apartment deck, later using them fresh in many dishes or drying and storing them for teas during the winter. Many of these herbs have medicinal properties as well and work wonders for common ailments. Now, not only am I consuming the foods I’ve grown in a variety of ways, but I’m also cutting down my reliance on others for managing my health and minor conditions such as colds and flu.

And a bonus: loose teas, fresh jams, and preserves make wonderful gifts. I’ve gotten rave reviews on my blueberry thyme jam and homemade salsa.

A Restructuring of Values

Sourdough baking requires skill, attention, and patience. Having previously lived a life of urgency and high stress, I rarely sat still long enough to wait for the frozen pizza to cook. By learning the art of sourdough, I was restructuring my values and my habits.

With every stretch and fold, I became more patient, more present, and began to appreciate the journey just as much as the destination.

Working with your hands has been shown to ease anxiety and promote feelings of calm. I’ve always been someone in a rush to get to the end goal, often missing life’s little moments along the way, but sourdough forced presence upon me.

There’s no rushing sourdough. External factors such as temperature will dictate how long the proofing process takes. You can’t force it to meet your expectations. You must allow the process to unfold as it’s going to that day, meaning that you have to fully surrender.

Surrendering to the process has allowed me to show up differently in my everyday life. I started to seek out moments of stillness and began to appreciate the small, simple aspects of life. Coffee in the morning, with a cat in my lap, became a time where I sat and enjoyed the stillness rather than a time I spent numbing out online. Dinner with my boyfriend became a sacred moment of connection rather than a task to rush through. In all aspects of my life, I began to value the journey over the destination.

Homemaking as a Calling

As my love for bread making grew, it naturally spilled into other areas of my life. I began experimenting with baking beyond bread, crafting by hand, and tending to my home with greater care and intention. There is a quiet satisfaction in work you can see and feel, in a well-kept space or a thoughtfully prepared meal. These are not trivial tasks. They are real work, and they are deeply rewarding.

There is a quiet satisfaction in work you can see and feel, in a well-kept space or a thoughtfully prepared meal.

For a long time, I felt embarrassed by how much I enjoyed what’s often dismissed as “women’s work.” The girl boss era did an impressive job of belittling the labor women have always done, encouraging us to abandon it in favor of roles that often felt unnatural and unfulfilling. When I finally allowed myself to embrace the work that genuinely lit me up, something shifted. I felt more grounded, more magnetic, and more aligned with my feminine nature. I don’t believe every woman must be a homemaker to experience that alignment, but for me, it has been transformative.

These days, my life moves at a gentler pace. Mornings begin slowly, usually with my cats nearby, and evenings wind down with a warm cup of tea and a good book. There's no rush, no constant urgency, just presence with the moment in front of me. Much like nurturing a good loaf of sourdough, this way of living requires patience and care. And for the first time, I’m not trying to rush the process. I’m savoring it.