Sourdough and Life Lessons

It’s time you meet Beatrice, the actual star of this show. Through her, I’ve already learned so much — about sourdough and about life, too. But let’s take it back to where her story began.

Since then, Beatrice has continued her legacy by creating starters of her own. Each now named and carrying on their individual traditions. She hopes to continue growing her sourdough family for generations to come.

Before her, I viewed sourdough as something far too time-consuming to learn. From the little I knew, it seemed intimidating and complicated. Honestly like something I didn’t have the time or mental space to figure out.

Truthfully, I had no plans to dabble in sourdough at all. Until I received an Amish Friendship Bread starter from my same Great-Aunt Phyllis. Now, this wasn’t sourdough — but I fell in love with the process. It was slow, intentional, and filled with specific steps that had to be followed carefully in order for it to turn out right. Somehow, despite my inexperience, I ended up with a few delicious loaves.

Feeling a little more confident, I texted Phil and told her I wanted to give sourdough a whirl. I asked if she could get a starter going for me from hers. Of course, she said yes — and so here we are.

If you’re experienced in the sourdough world, you’re probably laughing already.

I got home, started reading the f-o-u-r-page, handwritten recipe for a “basic” loaf of bread, and quickly decided Beatrice was going right back into the fridge. I had some studying to do first. It wasn’t until I carefully reread the recipe and watched a few tutorial videos that I finally felt confident enough to try.

Since then, Beatrice and I have formed quite a special bond. Together, we’ve made beautiful loaves, tasty recipes, and quite a few messes along the way. But more than anything, she’s taught me patience.

Funny enough, not long before Beatrice came into my life, I prayed a very intentional prayer for patience.

I know, I know — everyone says you should never pray for patience because the lessons tend to be difficult ones. Even so, I think God and I both knew that I was finally ready for this lesson. You can laugh at what I tell you next though. When praying this prayer, I asked him to take it easy on me this time. Now, don’t get me wrong. I do realize that lessons in life come at a cost. Until now though, it seemed like everything I learned was learned the hard way. Probably because I was too stubborn to listen to God when he gave me instructions the first time.

At first, asking that way felt selfish. But I believe God wants us to be intentional with our prayers. So I was. I truly felt in my heart that I finally understood what God was doing through all those hard lessons learned. I was willing to listen the first time this time.

And along came Beatrice.

We’re still babies in this journey together, but we’re excited to share it with you. Stay tuned for lessons learned, tips and tricks, recipes, and all the little moments in between.