Rant: A customer told me my sourdough "wasn't real bread" yesterday

I was at the farmers market in Eugene last Saturday and this older guy walks up, buys a loaf of my sourdough, then comes back 10 minutes later to say it's not real bread because I use a starter instead of commercial yeast. I just stood there with my mouth open for a second. Idk, it got me thinking about how people define bread vs what we actually make. Has anyone else dealt with customers who have really rigid ideas about what counts as proper baking?

2 comments

2 Comments

veram9922d ago

Oh jeez, that's wild. Honestly, what is it about sourdough that makes people lose their minds? I had a guy tell me my bagels were "bagel shaped bread" once because they weren't boiled in lye water. Like sorry I don't have a hazmat suit for my morning baking routine, dude. People get so weird about their personal rules for what counts as "real" anything. Your sourdough sounds legit, and honestly that guy probably just wanted to feel smarter than someone at the farmers market.

troyreed22d ago

Man, I feel you on this one. I had a lady at a popup tell me my ciabatta wasn't real bread because it had olive oil in it. She said real bread only has flour, water, salt, and yeast. I was like, so Italian bread isn't real bread then? She just walked off. People love to gatekeep the weirdest things, especially at farmers markets. Your sourdough sounds way more real than anything from a grocery store bakery aisle.