The Day I Learned Sourdough Isn't Just About the Bread

Last month, one of my regular customers asked me a question that totally changed how I think about baking. She said, "Easton, what bread do you eat at home?" I froze. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. I was so focused on making bread for other people that I'd stopped thinking about what bread actually pairs with—like, what makes sense to eat it with.

That weekend, my dad helped me think through the business side of things, but my mom and I decided to do an experiment in the kitchen. We took three different loaves I'd made and actually sat down to eat them. One was a more open crumb with bigger holes from a long bulk fermentation. One was tighter and denser because I'd done fewer stretch-and-folds. And one was somewhere in between—what I call my "everyday loaf."

We tried them all with different things. The open crumb one, the one with all those beautiful holes, was amazing with soup. The way it soaked up the broth but didn't fall apart—that was the dream. The denser loaf was perfect with butter and jam, because it had enough structure to hold toppings without being too airy. And that middle loaf? It was honestly the most versatile. Great with cheese, good with olive oil, solid with peanut butter.

Before this, I was just chasing oven spring and trying to get that Instagram-perfect score on my bread. Don't get me wrong, I still love that stuff. But I realized I'd been thinking about sourdough all wrong. It's not just about making the most beautiful loaf. It's about making bread that people actually want to eat and that works with the foods they love.

Now when customers order from Rise & Grind, I actually ask them what they're planning to make with the bread. If someone's making a fancy sandwich, I might suggest a tighter crumb. If they're dipping in olive oil or soup, I'll recommend one with more fermentation. It sounds simple, but it changed everything for me.

Yeaston—my starter—has been living in my kitchen for almost a year now, and I've learned that keeping him happy is about more than just feeding schedules. It's about understanding what he does and why that matters for actual humans eating actual food. That's when baking stops being just a hobby and becomes something real.