During the Pandemic™, I baked many many many loaves of sourdough bread. What began in 2019 as a way to build a friendship became a means to funneling all my anxieties, fears, and worries that this thing, made up of just four ingredients, could assuaged me.
It’s 2024. My two friends on a group chat share their loaves and comments. One is in San Fransisco and the other is in Maryland. We use to work together but that was a long time ago.
They say that men, especially straight men, that building a friendship is hard without an activity or hobby to focus on. Thats been true for me.
My pal in Maryland and I saw each other in the beginning of the year after about a year or so. I gave some of my starter, Bourdain, to him. I didn’t know how serious he was in revisiting sourdough baking, but the next day he attempted a loaf. It didn’t turn out the way he wanted. After several more tries, and us suggesting this and that, he has surpassed us in baking the Tartine Country Loaf.
While I miss them, we have our shared hobby.