Things are so fast-paced these days! There’s an online hack for everything, everyone talks about efficiency, and we expect results yesterday. I get tired just hearing all this stuff.
Which isn’t to say that I don’t sometimes get caught up in it. You probably do, too. If things aren’t happening within moments, we can get incredibly impatient. Lines at the grocery store, traffic, responses to our emails or text messages—we get aggravated just thinking about the slowness of these things!
Which brings me to bread dough. Lately, I’ve been working with sourdough, and there’s nothing that will make you slow down quite like sourdough. I keep mine in the fridge most of the week, but to get ready for baking, I take it out a couple days in advance and feed it. This isn’t a time-consuming process but I do it twice a day leading up to baking day, and then more often on the day. Then I measure out what I need, mix the ingredients, knead, pre-shape, and… let the dough rise. And it just takes the time it takes. Sure, I can encourage it to go faster by making sure it’s in a warm place, free of drafts. But it still just takes the time it takes. And then the next step is to deflate it and shape it, and then let it rise again! That also just takes the time it takes. The gorgeous burger buns I made last weekend needed two 4-hour rises, and they were worth it. Because sometimes time to ferment and rise and take your best form just… takes time.
My weekly baking reminds me that sometimes we just need to slow the F down. Let things unfold at their own pace. Notice the interesting things going on as we do our tasks. See small details. Feel your toes. Tell yourself stories about the other people zipping around. Look for cues that things are ready to happen or not.
This isn’t to say you should be passive about things, of course. If what you’re waiting for is a job offer, keep taking whatever actions you can in pursuit of your next job. (But don’t constantly reach out to the recruiter—they’re busy too.) Find things to apply for. Remind your contacts what you’re looking for (again, nit too often). Focus on the things you can take action on and take those actions.
But also find ways to be in stillness. Your dough will rise in its own time. Embrace that this is the process that brings flavor and texture and shape. As the Slow Food movement puts it, learn to live at the snail’s wise pace.
