What’s your hobby
- Thread starter J Alynn
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I'm sure at this point, many people know my "main" hobby. But I may need to break this post up, because... uh, I have too many hobbies, and honestly it would just be too long to read/type all at once.
I really enjoy learning new things. So ever few years I like to pick up a new skill/hobby. Keeps things "fresh"
.
Mountain Biking:
I took up mountain biking after age 30. I'm not particularly skilled, but I've progressed a lot in the 6-7 years since I started riding. Here are a few photos.
And this year has been less riding than the last, due to some injuries (childhood injuries causing problems now. I've apparently had a broken bone floating in my knee for 20 years). But last year I had 65 days riding outdoors, and a total of 175 days riding my trainer (indoor bike) and my outdoor riding. So I'm on the bike every other day or so on average.
This one is funny. It "looks" like it was late in the evening. This was taken at almost exactly noon. Its just "very steep".
Audio:
A lazy interest in audio. It comes from a father who was into "hi-fi" systems, and a great-uncle (not to be confused with a "great" uncle), who was... ridiculously into audio. He had part in the industry creating the LFE output of modern audio systems, knew Paul Klipsche, and attended CES for something like 40 consecutive years.
He had an amazing sound system in his basement. Last time I saw it he was 88 yrs old. He had 32 channels, 16 subs, smoke machines, laser light shows, etc. And 4 of his subs were originally installed in Grauman's Chinese Theatre (where the movie premiered), but were removed because they were destroying the building.
So in his honor/memory, I built a subwoofer for the home theater system. It was an attempt to connect one hobby (audio) with another desired hobby (woodworking).
And, I documented it in a no longer maintained blog. We still use it 12 years later.
loganslearnings.blogspot.com
Woodworking:
And another woodworking project in the same defunct blog (just because its documented). This was in the first apt after college... and I was working with very limited tools (2 clamps, a square, and a drill).
loganslearnings.blogspot.com
Here is a more recent attempt (I'm not a great woodworker, but I'm open to trying). This is a "shoe bench" that we put behind the couch by the garage door. In retrospect I should have made it larger. But its made of solid cherry. I biscuit'd a 1x12 and 1x4 together for the top. This is it before it was finished (obviously).
Knifemaking:
A new "hobby" of mine. This was my second attempt. I'm not making the blades (buying those premade/heat-treated/finished, and just adding handles).
The handle on this one is from the leftover wood from the knife block project up above (yes, I kept a scrap piece of wood 12 years... and through 2 moves), and a nostalgic pair of boots I owned for 20 years through some difficult portions of life. When the boots were finally dead/not able to repaired, I harvested the leather, and used them for the stacked leather portion of the handle here.
I'll probably be making more here in a few months. I mentor a 15-18yr old group of boys (have for ~11 years now), and they saw this and want to participate/make their own.
Here are some of the early steps of the last group of boys knives. This was the "find the materials and epoxy it" step. And you can see some of the boys went really simple (a 2x2), while others went more complicated with cedar, leather, bone... and someone else got part of an old pallet.
I really enjoy learning new things. So ever few years I like to pick up a new skill/hobby. Keeps things "fresh"
.Mountain Biking:
I took up mountain biking after age 30. I'm not particularly skilled, but I've progressed a lot in the 6-7 years since I started riding. Here are a few photos
.And this year has been less riding than the last, due to some injuries (childhood injuries causing problems now. I've apparently had a broken bone floating in my knee for 20 years). But last year I had 65 days riding outdoors, and a total of 175 days riding my trainer (indoor bike) and my outdoor riding. So I'm on the bike every other day or so on average.
This one is funny. It "looks" like it was late in the evening. This was taken at almost exactly noon. Its just "very steep".
Audio:
A lazy interest in audio. It comes from a father who was into "hi-fi" systems, and a great-uncle (not to be confused with a "great" uncle), who was... ridiculously into audio. He had part in the industry creating the LFE output of modern audio systems, knew Paul Klipsche, and attended CES for something like 40 consecutive years.
He had an amazing sound system in his basement. Last time I saw it he was 88 yrs old. He had 32 channels, 16 subs, smoke machines, laser light shows, etc. And 4 of his subs were originally installed in Grauman's Chinese Theatre (where the movie premiered), but were removed because they were destroying the building.
So in his honor/memory, I built a subwoofer for the home theater system. It was an attempt to connect one hobby (audio) with another desired hobby (woodworking).
And, I documented it in a no longer maintained blog. We still use it 12 years later.
Logans Leisure #2: End Table Subwoofer
Logans Leisure #2: End Table Subwoofer My blog is called "learnings, lessons and leisure". The learnings and lessons are similar, and whi...
loganslearnings.blogspot.com
Woodworking:
And another woodworking project in the same defunct blog (just because its documented). This was in the first apt after college... and I was working with very limited tools (2 clamps, a square, and a drill).
Logans Leisure #3: Bamboo Skewer knife block
Ok, so I've mentioned that I have wanted to get better at woodworking. As a result of this, I decided to go ahead and do something I've been...
loganslearnings.blogspot.com
Here is a more recent attempt (I'm not a great woodworker, but I'm open to trying). This is a "shoe bench" that we put behind the couch by the garage door. In retrospect I should have made it larger. But its made of solid cherry. I biscuit'd a 1x12 and 1x4 together for the top. This is it before it was finished (obviously).
Knifemaking:
A new "hobby" of mine. This was my second attempt. I'm not making the blades (buying those premade/heat-treated/finished, and just adding handles).
The handle on this one is from the leftover wood from the knife block project up above (yes, I kept a scrap piece of wood 12 years... and through 2 moves), and a nostalgic pair of boots I owned for 20 years through some difficult portions of life. When the boots were finally dead/not able to repaired, I harvested the leather, and used them for the stacked leather portion of the handle here.
I'll probably be making more here in a few months. I mentor a 15-18yr old group of boys (have for ~11 years now), and they saw this and want to participate/make their own.
Here are some of the early steps of the last group of boys knives. This was the "find the materials and epoxy it" step. And you can see some of the boys went really simple (a 2x2), while others went more complicated with cedar, leather, bone... and someone else got part of an old pallet.
Great pictures and beautiful knife. Takes me back to Scouting with my son. They were all about 8 at camp learning about the “circle of safety”.I'm sure at this point, many people know my "main" hobby. But I may need to break this post up, because... uh, I have too many hobbies, and honestly it would just be too long to read/type all at once.
I really enjoy learning new things. So ever few years I like to pick up a new skill/hobby. Keeps things "fresh"
Mountain Biking:
I took up mountain biking after age 30. I'm not particularly skilled, but I've progressed a lot in the 6-7 years since I started riding. Here are a few photos
And this year has been less riding than the last, due to some injuries (childhood injuries causing problems now. I've apparently had a broken bone floating in my knee for 20 years). But last year I had 65 days riding outdoors, and a total of 175 days riding my trainer (indoor bike) and my outdoor riding. So I'm on the bike every other day or so on average.
View attachment 10148
View attachment 10151
View attachment 10152
This one is funny. It "looks" like it was late in the evening. This was taken at almost exactly noon. Its just "very steep".
View attachment 10153
Audio:
A lazy interest in audio. It comes from a father who was into "hi-fi" systems, and a great-uncle (not to be confused with a "great" uncle), who was... ridiculously into audio. He had part in the industry creating the LFE output of modern audio systems, knew Paul Klipsche, and attended CES for something like 40 consecutive years.
He had an amazing sound system in his basement. Last time I saw it he was 88 yrs old. He had 32 channels, 16 subs, smoke machines, laser light shows, etc. And 4 of his subs were originally installed in Grauman's Chinese Theatre (where the movie premiered), but were removed because they were destroying the building.
So in his honor/memory, I built a subwoofer for the home theater system. It was an attempt to connect one hobby (audio) with another desired hobby (woodworking).
And, I documented it in a no longer maintained blog. We still use it 12 years later.
Logans Leisure #2: End Table Subwoofer
Logans Leisure #2: End Table Subwoofer My blog is called "learnings, lessons and leisure". The learnings and lessons are similar, and whi...
View attachment 10158
View attachment 10159
Woodworking:
And another woodworking project in the same defunct blog (just because its documented). This was in the first apt after college... and I was working with very limited tools (2 clamps, a square, and a drill).
Logans Leisure #3: Bamboo Skewer knife block
Ok, so I've mentioned that I have wanted to get better at woodworking. As a result of this, I decided to go ahead and do something I've been...
Here is a more recent attempt (I'm not a great woodworker, but I'm open to trying). This is a "shoe bench" that we put behind the couch by the garage door. In retrospect I should have made it larger. But its made of solid cherry. I biscuit'd a 1x12 and 1x4 together for the top. This is it before it was finished (obviously).
View attachment 10149
Knifemaking:
A new "hobby" of mine. This was my second attempt. I'm not making the blades (buying those premade/heat-treated/finished, and just adding handles).
The handle on this one is from the leftover wood from the knife block project up above (yes, I kept a scrap piece of wood 12 years... and through 2 moves), and a nostalgic pair of boots I owned for 20 years through some difficult portions of life. When the boots were finally dead/not able to repaired, I harvested the leather, and used them for the stacked leather portion of the handle here.
View attachment 10150
I'll probably be making more here in a few months. I mentor a 15-18yr old group of boys (have for ~11 years now), and they saw this and want to participate/make their own.
Here are some of the early steps of the last group of boys knives. This was the "find the materials and epoxy it" step. And you can see some of the boys went really simple (a 2x2), while others went more complicated with cedar, leather, bone... and someone else got part of an old pallet.
View attachment 10160
Great pictures and beautiful knife. Takes me back to Scouting with my son. They were all about 8 at camp learning about the “circle of safety”.
My kiddos made their own knives as well, at the same time. And yes, the first order of business, even before the knives were started was about the "blood circle" and "triangle of death". I was an active scouter (Eagle Scout), but my kids aren't in it. Still trying to teach lots of the same stuff though, just without the merit badges and red tape
.Top knife was my first attempt
Second shows the defect on the presentation side of the knife I showed above (some of the leather pieces were undersized, so the handle isn't "smooth").
The bottom two are my kids.
The sheath was't quite as successful. Its functional, but has a few blemishes (and you can see that missing part of the leather sticking out there).
Still, it works a treat
.
My kiddos made their own knives as well, at the same time. And yes, the first order of business, even before the knives were started was about the "blood circle" and "triangle of death". I was an active scouter (Eagle Scout), but my kids aren't in it. Still trying to teach lots of the same stuff though, just without the merit badges and red tape
Top knife was my first attempt
Second shows the defect on the presentation side of the knife I showed above (some of the leather pieces were undersized, so the handle isn't "smooth").
The bottom two are my kids.
View attachment 10162
The sheath was't quite as successful. Its functional, but has a few blemishes (and you can see that missing part of the leather sticking out there).
Still, it works a treat
View attachment 10163
Impressive hobbies!
Very talented...
Kind words, thank you.
Not sure if I'm talented, or just good at only showing the few projects that worked as intended
.Really though, I just enjoy learning to do new things. I really enjoy the satisfaction that comes from finally learning to do the thing, given enough time and practice.
Thats one of the things that appeals to me so much about mountain biking. The photos I showed there were all things that scared me spitless the first year, and took me ages to progress towards.
Some of my other hobbies are baking (sourdough), and uh... I killed a lot of starter, and baked a lot of "sort of edible" bread before I got it sorted.
Other hobbies:
Baking (as I said, mostly Sourdough).
Photography ( they say your first 100k photos are your worst... I'm working off of that
).Sewing (yes, really, but mostly to make my own camping gear. I made my hammock, top quilt, tarp, bugnet, etc. But also hacked up a vest for biking, patched up some torn knee pads, and made a down insulated beanie)
May have to hunt down some photos of those.
My wife says my down beanie looks like a diaper
.
The rock in the ocean is pretty good. A crop of about 20% down from the top would increase the drama significantly. This will break the composition rule that says don’t put the primary subject in the center, it works.Kind words, thank you.
Not sure if I'm talented, or just good at only showing the few projects that worked as intended
Really though, I just enjoy learning to do new things. I really enjoy the satisfaction that comes from finally learning to do the thing, given enough time and practice.
Thats one of the things that appeals to me so much about mountain biking. The photos I showed there were all things that scared me spitless the first year, and took me ages to progress towards.
Some of my other hobbies are baking (sourdough), and uh... I killed a lot of starter, and baked a lot of "sort of edible" bread before I got it sorted.
Other hobbies:
Baking (as I said, mostly Sourdough).
View attachment 10176
Photography ( they say your first 100k photos are your worst... I'm working off of that
View attachment 10174
View attachment 10177
View attachment 10178
Sewing (yes, really, but mostly to make my own camping gear. I made my hammock, top quilt, tarp, bugnet, etc. But also hacked up a vest for biking, patched up some torn knee pads, and made a down insulated beanie)
May have to hunt down some photos of those.
My wife says my down beanie looks like a diaper
But also I love it! My husband’s photography theory is take hundreds and as long as one picture turns out he considers it a success. Thank goodness we don’t have to pay for film and developing anymore.Kind words, thank you.
Not sure if I'm talented, or just good at only showing the few projects that worked as intended
Really though, I just enjoy learning to do new things. I really enjoy the satisfaction that comes from finally learning to do the thing, given enough time and practice.
Thats one of the things that appeals to me so much about mountain biking. The photos I showed there were all things that scared me spitless the first year, and took me ages to progress towards.
Some of my other hobbies are baking (sourdough), and uh... I killed a lot of starter, and baked a lot of "sort of edible" bread before I got it sorted.
Other hobbies:
Baking (as I said, mostly Sourdough).
View attachment 10176
Photography ( they say your first 100k photos are your worst... I'm working off of that
View attachment 10174
View attachment 10177
View attachment 10178
Sewing (yes, really, but mostly to make my own camping gear. I made my hammock, top quilt, tarp, bugnet, etc. But also hacked up a vest for biking, patched up some torn knee pads, and made a down insulated beanie)
May have to hunt down some photos of those.
My wife says my down beanie looks like a diaper
Interesting idea. I see what you're saying.
The bear is a bit fuzzy as well.
I should have used a few different settings (more ISO or faster shutter speed, or both. I have motion blur on it), but as the bear was only 40ft from me, I was also keeping an eye on said bear in the moment.
I was just happy that I hike with my DSLR out and ready, as otherwise I wouldn't have any photos of that one.
I'll try not to spam the thread with too many photos though.
It is fun to see what everyones hobbies are though.
Its like "hey look, internet people, we're also REAL people
".
Your pictures are great. Keep sharing!Interesting idea. I see what you're saying.
The bear is a bit fuzzy as well.
I should have used a few different settings (more ISO or faster shutter speed, or both. I have motion blur on it), but as the bear was only 40ft from me, I was also keeping an eye on said bear in the moment.
I was just happy that I hike with my DSLR out and ready, as otherwise I wouldn't have any photos of that one.
I'll try not to spam the thread with too many photos though.
It is fun to see what everyones hobbies are though.
Its like "hey look, internet people, we're also REAL people
Perfect. Another volunteer. Anyone for Midwest hot dish?
Kind words, thank you.
Not sure if I'm talented, or just good at only showing the few projects that worked as intended
Really though, I just enjoy learning to do new things. I really enjoy the satisfaction that comes from finally learning to do the thing, given enough time and practice.
Thats one of the things that appeals to me so much about mountain biking. The photos I showed there were all things that scared me spitless the first year, and took me ages to progress towards.
Some of my other hobbies are baking (sourdough), and uh... I killed a lot of starter, and baked a lot of "sort of edible" bread before I got it sorted.
Other hobbies:
Baking (as I said, mostly Sourdough).
View attachment 10176
Photography ( they say your first 100k photos are your worst... I'm working off of that
View attachment 10174
View attachment 10177
View attachment 10178
Sewing (yes, really, but mostly to make my own camping gear. I made my hammock, top quilt, tarp, bugnet, etc. But also hacked up a vest for biking, patched up some torn knee pads, and made a down insulated beanie)
May have to hunt down some photos of those.
My wife says my down beanie looks like a diaper
I have been trying to make/bake sour dough bread lately... about one out of three work out for me - so I'm a work in progress!
KNIFES!!! That is an awesome hobby.
There used to be a store in the Boston area called Stoddard's and it was the most amazing knife store. I got most of my Swiss Army knives and a duplicate of my Wusthof chef's knife there (why have one when you can have three? I like the weight of their knives and the person who sold me my first serious-business kitchen knife put a bunch of different ones in my hand and that was the one that felt best, and that's how I advised people to knife shop when I worked in a kitchen store: go by what feels best in your hand instead of going on name), plus it was the only place I'd go to get my knives sharpened because the dude who owned(?) the stores was a super-knife-man who judged knives and their owners extremely harshly. He used a whetstone and did them by hand, no machines. He was perennially disgusted with me because I only brought my knives in at Thanksgiving and he was annoyed that I wasn't bringing them by 4X/year like a person who respected knives would/should. Well, I guess if I really respected my knives, I'd have taken his class learn to sharpen them myself with a whetstone. I loved that guy and that store. He was an amazing and humorless knifeman.
There used to be a store in the Boston area called Stoddard's and it was the most amazing knife store. I got most of my Swiss Army knives and a duplicate of my Wusthof chef's knife there (why have one when you can have three? I like the weight of their knives and the person who sold me my first serious-business kitchen knife put a bunch of different ones in my hand and that was the one that felt best, and that's how I advised people to knife shop when I worked in a kitchen store: go by what feels best in your hand instead of going on name), plus it was the only place I'd go to get my knives sharpened because the dude who owned(?) the stores was a super-knife-man who judged knives and their owners extremely harshly. He used a whetstone and did them by hand, no machines. He was perennially disgusted with me because I only brought my knives in at Thanksgiving and he was annoyed that I wasn't bringing them by 4X/year like a person who respected knives would/should. Well, I guess if I really respected my knives, I'd have taken his class learn to sharpen them myself with a whetstone. I loved that guy and that store. He was an amazing and humorless knifeman.
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Assuming you've got a live and active/vigorous starter, the rest of it comes pretty quickly.
Honestly, sourdough bread is pretty forgiving, and most recipes are pretty simple (the one I use is literally flour, water, starter (which is itself technically just flour and water), and a tiny bit of salt). Yes it takes time, and yes it can be screwed up, but you'll get there.
When I was learning, I was literally making 4 loafs of bread a day, as I was feeding the starter 2x a day, and each feeding resulted in pouring off enough to make a batch of 2 loaves. And that went on for weeks. I was swimming in bread
.I typed this up for someone on my mountain biking forum. Adding it here in case it helps out.
Trying not to derail the other thread.
I started learning to make sourdough in 2017. I had to make the starter from scratch, which took like 6 weeks of feeding the starter two times a day.
Starter: The stuff that makes the bread rise. Its literally just 50/50 flour/water by volume, but importantly is full of bacteria (that makes the bubbles that rises the bread) , and acid (that gives it the sour taste).
Feeding: I have no idea how much starter you have. But here is how I operate.
You can tell if the starter needs feeding, because it will look... nasty, flat, oily, droopy, with a bit of a liquid showing up on top. It sounds hard to recognize, and then you'll see it one morning after forgetting to feed the starter, and think "oh, thats what he meant". Its pretty obvious. But also... I've gone a few days at room temp, and still recovered it. Sour dough starter is pretty resilient.
Healthy starter looks... really really bubbly/frothy, and frankly, sometimes looks tasty by itself. You'll know it when you see it.
Making Bread: Basically, instead of pouring off/discarding the starter like you would with a feeding, you take the part that you would have thrown in the trash... and throw it in the recipe. This does mean that you need to look ahead for how much starter your recipe needs, and if you need to make more (as mentioned above), to make sure you don't accidentally use it all up. Because if you use it up, it... is gone, and you have to start over/find more starter.
The only other thing I'll mention, is that sourdough bread dough is a bit more fragile. I taught my mother to make it (remotely, like this), and she didn't have good success at first. Later she came to visit, and saw how we did it, and realized that she'd just been punching/manhandling the dough a lot more, because that is how she was used to treating normal yeast bread.
I normally let my bread rise in a bowl/banneton (rising basket), then cook them on a cookie sheet/normal baking tray. My wife prefers to cook her recipe in a pre-warmed enamel dutch oven lined with parchment paper, with about half the time with the lid closed, and half with the lid off. The lid on keeps it moist allowing it to rise more, the lid off gives it a nice crust.
Oh, also, sourdough breads like to be cooked hot. It makes them rise in the oven more (called an "oven spring"). I bake at 500f, my wife does hers at 500f for the first bit, then down to 450f when the lid comes off.
I started learning to make sourdough in 2017. I had to make the starter from scratch, which took like 6 weeks of feeding the starter two times a day.
Starter: The stuff that makes the bread rise. Its literally just 50/50 flour/water by volume, but importantly is full of bacteria (that makes the bubbles that rises the bread) , and acid (that gives it the sour taste).
Feeding: I have no idea how much starter you have. But here is how I operate.
- Pour down (like, down the drain, or into the trash) your starter until you have 4oz of net starter (goo) left.
- Add 4oz of water
- Add 4oz of flour
- notice that we keep the 50/50 ratio with this. You can actually do more/less, and its just fine, and sometimes you will choose to do that for various reasons
- like when a recipe calls for more starter to start with... make more here.
- like when you're storing it in the fridge, you may want a smaller container. I store a TOTAL of 4oz, and then the first time i feed it out of the fridge, I don't throw any away, I just add the 4oz/4oz above and let it sit).
- Mix
- Profit/start over at step 1 after 12-24 hours.
You can tell if the starter needs feeding, because it will look... nasty, flat, oily, droopy, with a bit of a liquid showing up on top. It sounds hard to recognize, and then you'll see it one morning after forgetting to feed the starter, and think "oh, thats what he meant". Its pretty obvious. But also... I've gone a few days at room temp, and still recovered it. Sour dough starter is pretty resilient.
Healthy starter looks... really really bubbly/frothy, and frankly, sometimes looks tasty by itself. You'll know it when you see it.
Making Bread: Basically, instead of pouring off/discarding the starter like you would with a feeding, you take the part that you would have thrown in the trash... and throw it in the recipe. This does mean that you need to look ahead for how much starter your recipe needs, and if you need to make more (as mentioned above), to make sure you don't accidentally use it all up. Because if you use it up, it... is gone, and you have to start over/find more starter.
The only other thing I'll mention, is that sourdough bread dough is a bit more fragile. I taught my mother to make it (remotely, like this), and she didn't have good success at first. Later she came to visit, and saw how we did it, and realized that she'd just been punching/manhandling the dough a lot more, because that is how she was used to treating normal yeast bread.
I normally let my bread rise in a bowl/banneton (rising basket), then cook them on a cookie sheet/normal baking tray. My wife prefers to cook her recipe in a pre-warmed enamel dutch oven lined with parchment paper, with about half the time with the lid closed, and half with the lid off. The lid on keeps it moist allowing it to rise more, the lid off gives it a nice crust.
Oh, also, sourdough breads like to be cooked hot. It makes them rise in the oven more (called an "oven spring"). I bake at 500f, my wife does hers at 500f for the first bit, then down to 450f when the lid comes off.
One of the more interesting things about Stoddards was the seemingly random flyfishing section tucked into the corner of the store. It was managed by a guy named Phil Klug, and it was considered the oldest and longest running tackle store in the USA at one point (over 200 years). Early in my career I worked in Boston (Downtown Crossing) and would swing in there to buy saltwater fly tying materials or eavesdrop on the fishing reports. When Orvis moved into Faneuil Hall, it was the beginning of the end for the fishing section. That was really a true gem of a store with so much character (and characters). Would be a great revival if someone could bring it back to life, but without parking (even worse now than it was in 2000), the internet will prevent that from happening.KNIFES!!! That is an awesome hobby.
There used to be a store in the Boston area called Stoddard's and it was the most amazing knife store. I got most of my Swiss Army knives and a duplicate of my Wusthof chef's knife there, plus it was the only place I'd go to get my knives sharpened because the dude who owned(?) the stores was a super-knife-man who judged knives and their owners extremely harshly. He used a whetstone and did them by hand, no machines. He was perennially disgusted with me because I only brought my knives in at Thanksgiving and he was annoyed that I wasn't bringing them by 4X/year like a person who respected knives would/should. Well, I guess if I really respected my knives, I'd have taken his class learn to sharpen them myself with a whetstone. I loved that guy and that store. He was an amazing and humorless knifeman.
Bread is also a cool hobby! My best friend's husband is a breadman of leisure, too. There's a person I follow in Instagram who makes the most beautiful breads dotted with sliced vegetables and herbs. I guess this person got into bread during the pandemic and now makes the most gorgeous, artistic breads I've ever seen. I'm not super into sourdough, but boy oh boy do I enjoy some fermentation in the kitchen, especially after discovering how easy it is to make kimchi and how frigging delicious and customizable it is. Everything can become kimchi!Assuming you've got a live and active/vigorous starter, the rest of it comes pretty quickly.
Honestly, sourdough bread is pretty forgiving, and most recipes are pretty simple (the one I use is literally flour, water, starter (which is itself technically just flour and water), and a tiny bit of salt). Yes it takes time, and yes it can be screwed up, but you'll get there.
When I was learning, I was literally making 4 loafs of bread a day, as I was feeding the starter 2x a day, and each feeding resulted in pouring off enough to make a batch of 2 loaves. And that went on for weeks. I was swimming in bread
I typed this up for someone on my mountain biking forum. Adding it here in case it helps out.
Trying not to derail the other thread.
I started learning to make sourdough in 2017. I had to make the starter from scratch, which took like 6 weeks of feeding the starter two times a day.
Starter: The stuff that makes the bread rise. Its literally just 50/50 flour/water by volume, but importantly is full of bacteria (that makes the bubbles that rises the bread) , and acid (that gives it the sour taste).
Feeding: I have no idea how much starter you have. But here is how I operate.
Its said that a "healthy" starter grows 2-4x in size within a 3-4hrs of feeding. If your starter can't at least double in volume in that time, you probably need to stick to a 12hour feeding schedule for a while (or your house temp is super low).
- Pour down (like, down the drain, or into the trash) your starter until you have 4oz of net starter (goo) left.
- Add 4oz of water
- Add 4oz of flour
- notice that we keep the 50/50 ratio with this. You can actually do more/less, and its just fine, and sometimes you will choose to do that for various reasons
- like when a recipe calls for more starter to start with... make more here.
- like when you're storing it in the fridge, you may want a smaller container. I store a TOTAL of 4oz, and then the first time i feed it out of the fridge, I don't throw any away, I just add the 4oz/4oz above and let it sit).
- Mix
- Profit/start over at step 1 after 12-24 hours.
You can tell if the starter needs feeding, because it will look... nasty, flat, oily, droopy, with a bit of a liquid showing up on top. It sounds hard to recognize, and then you'll see it one morning after forgetting to feed the starter, and think "oh, thats what he meant". Its pretty obvious. But also... I've gone a few days at room temp, and still recovered it. Sour dough starter is pretty resilient.
Healthy starter looks... really really bubbly/frothy, and frankly, sometimes looks tasty by itself. You'll know it when you see it.
Making Bread: Basically, instead of pouring off/discarding the starter like you would with a feeding, you take the part that you would have thrown in the trash... and throw it in the recipe. This does mean that you need to look ahead for how much starter your recipe needs, and if you need to make more (as mentioned above), to make sure you don't accidentally use it all up. Because if you use it up, it... is gone, and you have to start over/find more starter.
The only other thing I'll mention, is that sourdough bread dough is a bit more fragile. I taught my mother to make it (remotely, like this), and she didn't have good success at first. Later she came to visit, and saw how we did it, and realized that she'd just been punching/manhandling the dough a lot more, because that is how she was used to treating normal yeast bread.
I normally let my bread rise in a bowl/banneton (rising basket), then cook them on a cookie sheet/normal baking tray. My wife prefers to cook her recipe in a pre-warmed enamel dutch oven lined with parchment paper, with about half the time with the lid closed, and half with the lid off. The lid on keeps it moist allowing it to rise more, the lid off gives it a nice crust.
Oh, also, sourdough breads like to be cooked hot. It makes them rise in the oven more (called an "oven spring"). I bake at 500f, my wife does hers at 500f for the first bit, then down to 450f when the lid comes off.
But you are sharpening them, sometimes! Thats more than most people do.KNIFES!!! That is an awesome hobby.
There used to be a store in the Boston area called Stoddard's and it was the most amazing knife store. I got most of my Swiss Army knives and a duplicate of my Wusthof chef's knife there, plus it was the only place I'd go to get my knives sharpened because the dude who owned(?) the stores was a super-knife-man who judged knives and their owners extremely harshly. He used a whetstone and did them by hand, no machines. He was perennially disgusted with me because I only brought my knives in at Thanksgiving and he was annoyed that I wasn't bringing them by 4X/year like a person who respected knives would/should. Well, I guess if I really respected my knives, I'd have taken his class learn to sharpen them myself with a whetstone. I loved that guy and that store. He was an amazing and humorless knifeman.
Actually, my wife is now frustrated any time we go back to her parents house, and she's asked to help cook. The inlaws knives are always soooooo bad (and they keep them in a drawer...).
Your knifeman sounds a bit like the NO SOUP FOR YOU guy from Seinfeld
.Before I started making knives, I got really into learning about knives. I'm not a collector, but I really enjoyed learning more about why certain knives are shaped the way they are, what material properties are helpful, and honestly just the geometry/use/care of knives.
Knife sharpening is actually really simple. Once you understand the concept, its just practicing until the precision of the execution matches the concept well enough.
And the concept is "just make sure that you keep a consistent angle while sharpening, so that the apex of the edge is actually sharpened". And once you have that, then its just adjusting the grits to remove the damaged part, and cleaning up the edge.
If you ever want to try, I find the easiest/cheapest way to give it a shot, is to use automotive wet/dry sandpaper (easy to find and cheap for a variety pack of ~400-1500grit). When I was learning, I was literally asking friends/family for knives to practice sharpening on. Took a bit, but I got there. I'm not some magician, but I can get about any knife I've tried to whittle beard hairs (thats where I stop, I'm not good enough to go past that apparently
).The secret sauce is to use a polishing compound for the final step. I rub it on plain printer paper (like drawing on the paper with a crayon), and do a few passes after sharpening, and it does a great job.
Stuff like this works great, and only costs a few bucks.
That's right, they did have fishing stuff. That was my go-to place to get gifts for my dad (knives, watches, etc) because it was such a neat, classy place. It really was a gem.
I don't remember Phil, but I think David was the guy who sharpened my knives and complained about the lack of respect people had for their knives. I kind of remember seeing him at the Temple Place store and at Chestnut Hill (that was my dad's favorite place to go kill time during family shopping trips while my mom and I went to Bloomingdale's and/or Filene's).
That would be a pretty great revival. I feel like the need for gentlemanly sporting goods (and teaching about gentlemanly sporting goods) is evergreen.
But you are sharpening them, sometimes! Thats more than most people do.
Actually, my wife is now frustrated any time we go back to her parents house, and she's asked to help cook. The inlaws knives are always soooooo bad (and they keep them in a drawer...)
Your knifeman sounds a bit like the NO SOUP FOR YOU guy from Seinfeld
I would get yelled at because there were the telltale signs of my ex-husband running them through the dishwasher against my instructions (worn bolster, water spots, etc). His argument was that I wasn't making them sanitary with hot water and soap, that the dishwasher was more like an autoclave, etc. He didn't buy that it was bad for them. I get infuriated when I see a knife in a dishwasher. I figure that I am just doing the good work of the fascist knifeman.
YES!!! It is cool to learn about the differences in blades. Japanese knives are really interesting. There's a guy I watch on YouTube who has a bunch of different knives for chopping vegetables and I love watching him do these precision cuts like it's the easiest thing in the world because he's not a butterfingers making minced onions fly everywhere. I love that they all have a name and specific function, and that a chunky knife that looks like it should feel awkward will make quick work out of some hard-skinned gourds.
That's my trouble: I can never get the angle right, so that's why I take them to someone who doesn't have shaky hands and low confidence.
I do have a rotary whetstone and a regular whetstone, I'm just too chicken to try them out in fear of ruining a knife beyond repair. At this point, though, at least two aren't really in heirloom shape anymore. I can stand to lose one by accident. Thanks for the tips!!! Knifeman would demonstrate the newly-sharpened blade out for me by slicing a piece of butcher paper a couple times. I never got to see the newly-honed edge.If you ever want to try, I find the easiest/cheapest way to give it a shot, is to use automotive wet/dry sandpaper (easy to find and cheap for a variety pack of ~400-1500grit). When I was learning, I was literally asking friends/family for knives to practice sharpening on. Took a bit, but I got there. I'm not some magician, but I can get about any knife I've tried to whittle beard hairs (thats where I stop, I'm not good enough to go past that apparently
The secret sauce is to use a polishing compound for the final step. I rub it on plain printer paper (like drawing on the paper with a crayon), and do a few passes after sharpening, and it does a great job.
Stuff like this works great, and only costs a few bucks.[/QUOTE
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