I’ve made bread many times over the years and am very familiar with how that process works and what the steps are needed to make bread. Recently though, I’ve made my first sourdough starter and then sourdough bread. The starter takes one to two weeks from the original mix of flour and water until it has grown enough to be used to cook with. It requires a daily feeding which is a little bit of yesterday’s starter and some flour and water. Then it grows on it own, until the next day. I haven’t named my starter yet but I’ve heard of some people that do!

With time, the dough gets smoother on its own.

The funny thing that I’ve noticed about sourdough starter and bread making, which is different from dry yeast bread making, is how the flour, water and starter just need to be mixed into a shaggy mass or roughly mixed together. There is none of the gradually incorporating the flour by kneading until it all is smooth and elastic. Magically just by waiting, the starter “eats” through the flour and it becomes very smooth, almost silky in texture. It’s an amazing transformation and I enjoy watching it happen each time! I can assure you that’s not the way I left it after mixing it to begin with.

What occurred to me is that this process is much like coming up with new ideas and skills. Yes, practice is involved and effort, but there are times when what’s necessary is just to have all the parts in place and then sit on it for a while. Just wait and let it be. Give the idea some time and then look at it again. Often by magic the idea has grown and changed to become something more polished than the rough stage I started at.

My thoughts on creativity courtesy of sourdough starter.