Just a quick update on my progress. I've continued to work on my first 2 skills, floral arrangements and bread making. I also started roller skating classes this weekend. There were probably 25 people in the class, and 80% of them were under the age of 10. At least I wasn't the only adult. The instructor was maybe 20 years old, her assistants were probably 16, and the class was definitely geared towards working the littles, but it was a blast. I can officially say I know how to "penguin walk", stop, fall without hurting myself, and get back up without wiping out again. All I want is to learn how to do cool footwork so I can go jam out at adult night, but that's still a long way off.

My bread making is going great though! I knew I loved eating bread, but I underestimated how much I would enjoy making bread. Sourdough is so fun, and seriously not as hard to manage as people make it out to be. Some people out there equate successfully making sourdough to being part of some exclusive club, but I say anyone who makes it sound really difficult, or that "having a sourdough starter is like having a pet" has either never had a pet, or is making it way more challenging and time-consuming than it needs to be.

I've made sourdough the past 3 or 4 weekends now, and I've pretty much ignored my starter in between. I just put it in the refrigerator during the week then take it out and feed it the night before I want to bake. I'm no sourdough expert, but I've been pretty happy with the taste and the texture of the loaves I'm getting out of doing it this way. You can get super scientific about it, so I'm sure there's probably some benefit to feeding it everyday, but I say if you're happy with your bread then that's all that matters.

Speaking of the science though, I do have a great book on sourdough that I love, and the author gets super into the science behind it which I definitely do find interesting. He was also a Software Developer before switching to baking full-time, so that's been a fun comparison. I think I like his writing so much because we think the same way and process information similarly. If you're into sourdough, or are looking into trying it out, I highly recommend getting a copy of The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo or checking out his blog: here.

Now that I've tweaked the recipe and process to work with my schedule, I think I'll start working on adding some more intricate scoring patterns.. use bread as a new artistic outlet. Keep up with my Instagram profile for photo evidence of my progress on all this bread making and my goal of learning 12 new skills in 2024!