Baking Bread and Marriage: Surprising Similarities
Recently a friend offered us a tablespoon of her sourdough starter. And we came to discover that baking bread and marriage have some surprising similarities.
Read more: Baking Bread and Marriage: Surprising SimilaritiesThe Process
Karen: I knew that accepting this little bit of sourdough starter came with a lot of responsibility. It would need to be fed on a regular basis and provided a warm environment in which to grow. We would have to observe this dough using all our senses. Does it look frothy and bubbly… feel stretchy… smell just the right amount of yeasty? On occasion we would need to discard some of the starter before feeding to keep it from becoming too sour. It would have to be watched carefully for that moment when it doubled in size and just began to fall (hence the rubber band around the jar to measure growth).
Scott: Karen was excited and really wanted us to do this together. What the heck, I thought, it’s January. It’s cold and icy and snowy. I do love a fresh slice of sourdough bread. And I love Karen more. Still, this was a stretch outside my comfort zone. I watched as Karen lovingly nurtured this starter day after day, even naming her Julia. And when it looked like Julia was finally ready, we took a portion of her out of her nice, warm home, weighed her and added her to precise amounts of flour, water, and salt. We stretched and shaped this new dough, allowed it to rest, stretched and shaped it again, and let it ferment overnight.
The Results
And just before we put the newly formed loaf into a very hot oven, we took a sharp knife and cut four slits in the top so our bread could expand in the heat without bursting at the seams. The results were even better than we hoped. As we admired our homemade bread and savored the crispy crust and soft interior, we marveled at the gift our friend had given us in that one small tablespoon of starter.
Marriage and Breadmaking
The slow but steady process of bread-making helped us see that a successful loaf of bread and a happy marriage have much in common. Our relationship needs to be fed consistently. What is an Emotional Bank Account? – The Couples Center It needs a warm and friendly environment in which to thrive and grow. We must use all of our senses to observe and evaluate how we are doing. Are there behaviors might we need to discard and replace with healthy behaviors for the good of our marriage? Stretching ourselves and shaping ourselves into what we know we can be is key to our couple growth. Rest and relaxation are important. And carving out space for our relationship is necessary if we want to expand and rise together in the heat of family turmoil, work pressure, serious illness, etc.
Just a tablespoon of love shared by a friend brought some new life into our relationship. We will be sharing Julia in the days to come… perhaps with instructions… for making both bread and happy marriages.
