“So strong is tradition that later generations will dream of what they have never seen.” 

– G.K. Chesterton

A phenomenon is sweeping the kitchens of America. Urban, suburban, and rural women alike are re-discovering the joys of using sourdough for cooking and baking.

It calls back the times of our great grandmothers, baking for their families on their homesteads when trips to town were very few. It was written that my own great grandmother, Gertie, made seven loaves of bread per week for her large family. 

Today, the women (and men) who are intent upon making their own bread are probably not doing it for money-saving reasons (although it is a small incentive). They are motivated by something bigger. No words can enumerate the satisfaction of creating your own meal from scratch. No boxes, no microwaves, no additives one can’t pronounce. And it tastes so much better. Certainly the health concerns are also a contributing factor, but I also don’t think that is the core reason for the sourdough comeback. 

I believe this sudden return to baking with sourdough is representative of a greater movement at large. It is a society without an identity that is seeking to find it once more. 

Many of us yearn for simpler times. The world around us seems ever-maddening. Modernity is nearly inescapable throughout social media feeds, in politics, and in public schools and universities. It seems like the train is speeding off the tracks, and we’re not sure how to correct it. 

A great majority of society’s problems are out of our control, but we do have control over our most basic society – our family. The home is as good a place to start as any. 

Picture the mother kneading bread with her young daughter instead of showing her how to watch videos on TikTok, and you get a little closer to something we all desire: simplicity, connectedness, and wholeness. 

It seems trite to make such a big deal about baking bread. Is there really that big of a difference between spending a few dollars at the store and figuring out how to do it yourself? 

With every technological advancement, something is lost. 

Allen Harrelson on the Pipe Cottage reiterates this point: Our lives are filled with time-saving gadgets, but we do absolutely nothing with the time saved, except sit down in front of a box with pixels on it. Sure, buying bread at the store saves time, but what have we lost in foregoing the craft?  

Perhaps the fulfillment of life is not in excusing ourselves from the tedious chores of life, but embracing them. I’ll be the first one to say that the robotic vacuums are the greatest thing since sliced bread (haha), but what have I passed by by not taking the time to sweep the floor? Perhaps a quiet moment with God where I can utter a prayer of thanks for the dirty boots that have trod there. Or a contemplative prayer where He meets me where I am. The same concept applies to walking instead of driving, rocking the baby in silence instead of watching television, and visiting a person instead of visiting their profile. And I can use this reminder just as much as anyone – mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. 

Baking with sourdough seems to be a thing no one can argue with. It’s almost universally good. The baker has a tie to the past, creates something good and beautiful with her hands, and it is far superior to store-bought bread. It only takes a little more time and the enrichment is tenfold. 

Most of us who are Christians in rural America understand the sacredness of life in the home and the reverence we hold for our grandparents and great-grandparents. While we try to keep traditions (or reintroduce ourselves to them), our nation’s leaders seem intent on the materialist, modernist view of throwing everything from yesterday out simply because it is not new. 

So yes, the sourdough comeback is encouraging. It is a silent rebellion against the madness of the modern age. 

There is much to disdain in the current news cycle, but I, for one, remain hopeful. There are certainly a few radicals that get the most attention in the news, but I believe the silent majority – especially in my generation – recognize the chaos around us and are resisting. Many of us are heading in the other direction – back to sanity. We’re taking our marriage vows seriously, reading books, growing our own food, fighting off addictions, turning off our televisions, and returning to a simpler time. We don’t want watered-down Truth. We crave what is good, true, and beautiful. 

The devil sows confusion. God is simple. It behooves us to remember that the simple things will always draw us closer to Him. 

Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2