Pandemic Bread Obsession
Sourdough baking became March-May 2020’s defining quarantine activity as stuck-at-home people cultivated wild yeast starters and baked artisan bread. The labor-intensive hobby symbolized pandemic’s abundance of time and need for control.
Why sourdough: Yeast shortages (commercial yeast sold out); sourdough uses wild yeast from air; time-intensive perfect for lockdown
Starter culture: Naming starters, sharing discard recipes, starter care guides, starter swaps
Instagram flood: Perfectly scored loaves, crumb shots, “ear” photos
Flour shortages: King Arthur Flour, Bob’s Red Mill couldn’t keep up with demand
Learning curve: Many failures (dense bricks, gummy insides); perseverance became badge of honor
Community: r/Sourdough, Facebook groups, sharing tips/troubleshooting
Decline: Summer 2020 reopening; people realized time investment unsustainable long-term
Legacy: Some maintained practice; others abandoned when life resumed; King Arthur Flour sales permanently elevated
Sourdough represented pandemic’s search for productive distraction and mastery over small controllable domain during chaos.