I’m sure most of us are familiar with some variation of the story about a reporter who once asked Thomas Edison how it felt to fail so many times while trying to invent the lightbulb. Edison replied, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

I can relate to that. It’s how I felt while making a loaf of sourdough bread.

I actually tried making sourdough bread a few years ago, after reading that it’s a healthier bread choice for diabetics. I researched and experimented with different recipes for both the bread and the starter, which is an essential ingredient in sourdough bread, and which takes several days and certain temperature and humidity levels to develop. Plus you have to “feed” the starter regularly with carefully weighed amounts of flour and water.

Although the bread I baked tasted fine, it never seemed quite right, so I eventually just used up all my starter and called it a day.

Not long ago, I saw an ad from a local baker—who is well known for her decorative and delicious cakes—about a one-day sourdough class she was presenting, which included step-by-step instructions, hands-on experience, and a robust starter we could take home and start using right away. I signed up immediately.

The class included a review of some things I already knew, a fine-tuning of others, and some brand-new tips and tidbits that not only helped immensely, but gave me confidence I didn’t have before. I couldn’t wait to get home and try making a loaf of my own.

I’ve already made several since taking the class. They haven’t looked the same as perfect bakery loaves, but I’m sure I’ll get there. And they’ve tasted wonderful, which is the main point, after all. As a bonus, the smell from the kitchen as they’re baking is absolutely mouthwatering.

It didn’t take me 10,000 attempts to come up with an acceptable loaf of sourdough bread, but a lightbulb did go off when I realized how many lessons I learned along the way, and everything it took to get there—my own research and reading, an expert instructor, encouragement from others, a number of attempts, and a bucketload of determination. And if you think about it, that’s a good recipe for success in anything we might want to do.

Thomas Edison would be proud.

February 7, 2025
©Betty Liedtke, 2025

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