At any given time I am known to have at least five jars of sourdough starter in my kitchen. Sometimes they are prolonging their lives in my refrigerator. Sometimes they are sitting on the counter, ready to use. And sometimes, those “babies” are sitting in the microwave, heating up, getting bubbly, and smelling oh-so-good!
Almost a year ago, at Easter, my sister handed me a sourdough baby in a jar. I just looked at her like, “What in the actual hell am I supposed to do with this?!” “Keep it alive,” she said, simply. I don’t bake. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to cook, experimenting in the kitchen with flavors and ingredients (if I had my life to do over again, I would have gone to culinary school…that English degree of mine is not serving me well these days). But I do not like baking. It’s too precise. I like the fluidity that comes with cooking as opposed to the exact measurements that are needed for baking. I want to throw things together, not sift flour.
But here I was, standing in my mom’s kitchen, with a jar of goodness from my sister who went to college barely able to make mac and cheese. Challenge accepted. If she could keep the baby alive, so could I.
And so began my journey as the crazy sourdough lady. Giving away babies on Buy Nothing groups. Making fresh bread for avocado toast in the mornings. Pressuring my friends into taking a baby with the lure of freshly baked chocolate chip discard muffins. (Here’s my favorite recipe! I half the sugar and add two mashed bananas. My kids can eat the entire batch in one sitting. And they are a huge hit with my carpool surrogate kids!)
It was not really surprising that a friend would see this book at a local bookstore and think of me! I have a reputation in my circle, after all. But I never would have known this book existed if my sweet friend hadn’t bought it and sent it my way.
“Sourdough” by Robin Sloan is less about baking and more about that tough road, just out of college, to finding yourself.
Lois, the main character, is straight out of college, with a high paying job as a software engineer. She finds herself working a lackluster job in a new city (San Francisco…the heart of sourdough bread, go figure!) far from her parents and the only home she’s ever known. And while she likes the work she does, it doesn’t take long to understand the lack of fulfillment she’s experiencing.
Through no fault (or desire, really) of her own, she finds herself the new owner of a sourdough starter that has lived on for years. She’s given instructions how to feed and care for it (there is a playlist…very high maintenance baby!). She’s overwhelmed with the “gift” (same, girl, same), but truly determined to do right by the brothers who gifted it to her. (Side note, I felt ALLLLLL of these things when I first received my little sourdough baby. Now, nearly a year later, she’s going strong, and feeding countless other carb lovers!). She goes on a quest to, not only keep the starter alive, but to help it thrive. And in the process, find what truly makes her happy.
You meet so many unique and eclectic characters through Lois’s journey. Her coworkers, who exist only on a nutritive gel called slurry. The irony is not lost on me here. The bread smells and tastes like heaven when she brings it to work! The mysterious brothers who left her the starter, who continue to communicate with Lois via email. And then there’s the entire cutthroat vendors at the farmer’s markets where she tries desperately to get a spot to sell her bread!
The novel weaves comedy and IT/software jargon with self doubt and creativity. It’s not a page turner in the mysterious sense. But I did find myself wanting to know how Lois’s quest of self exploration and fulfillment ended. It really is a great blend of the journey of young adulthood. And while I’m far past that age, it’s something I still relate to (and, quite honestly, struggle with often). Everyone is desperately trying to figure out where and how they fit into the world. What will bring us joy? And what will be our lasting legacy?
Lois just happens to find some of these answers in the smiling face of a perfect loaf sourdough bread.
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