Autolyse, Sour Dough Bread, and Trad Wives

 The long awaited sourdough episode is finally here. We talk about autolyse, a word coined by a French chef in regards to baking. 

Then we talk about our sourdough journey including the validation that Steph found in this endeavor. 

Finally, we try to determine what women sourdough bakers should call themselves as we discuss both the positive and negative connotations associated with “trad wives.”

Find the Joe Rogan clip about McDonald’s Coke here (warning: language). 

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Any views expressed on this podcast are those solely of the hosts and is for entertainment purposes only. None of the content is medical advice or financial advice.

Special thanks to Tim Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE for his permission to use the song Operatique.

Transcript

I Hate Talking: 0:29

Welcome to episode 46 of I Hate Talking. Hi everyone. Now, we've been busy over the last few weeks and perhaps we will delve into some topics in the near future. We never really got any feedback yet, I guess on topics that people want to hear about, but maybe we'll just keep going with topics that we enjoy. So, we're going to talk about a particular hobby that perhaps you enjoy and talk about that today and I'll let you carry the conversation, this particular episode. Are we doing word or just going right into it? We are going to do a word or phrase, and I believe you had that word or phrase prepared. Is that correct? Yeah. Well, that is what we start with. It was on my phone and I don't have my phone with me. Well, what is the word? You don't even know what the word is without looking at your phone? Oh, I don't know how to pronounce it unless I see my phone. So it's a difficult to pronounce word. That's a good start. Most of the ones that we do on this podcast, I'd say fifty-fifty are hard to pronounce and the other 50 are relatively easy or well-known words that maybe are misused or just not well known in terms of their definition or etymology. Well, do you have your phone and I'll look it up. I do have my phone. It's amazing what we can do with technology these days, because in my experience as a person in school, we didn't have these things like you had to look stuff up in a book. Like, I guess that makes me old, but like I had to go look up something in the in a hard copy dictionary or like an encyclopedia. I did that a little, yeah, encyclopedias was a thing, but like, my time, it was more, you had to go to the library. Like at school, we had the library and you went all the way over there and had to turn on the computer. Yeah, I think that is probably some of my first experiences with computers as well. We did have a home computer relatively early compared to my peers. We did have computers at the public library that we would utilize as well, but I remember going to the library actually to look for books as well, like you would go to the library to find out knowledge and read it in a book. I don't think people really do that anymore. I think you maybe go to the library to like as a social club or to maybe find. Maybe archived stuff like newspapers or magazines. There are books still, I guess people still like to read, but I don't feel like people really go to local libraries to like -- perform research -- perhaps. No, I don't think so. It's like to go get a story. That's what we use it for books to read for like entertainment. Yes, that is true, because you can do all the research online, like for our kids' projects or even like if I need to know. How to change a lock in a sliding glass door. I will just YouTube it. Yeah, exactly. Well, you had to go to a library to learn about this or just be a tradesman, I guess. Well, one of our kids' school assignments, they had a research assignment and they had to have at least one book as a reference. I was like, oh man, we got to go to the library. And I didn't tell them that. I was like, Yay, we got to go to the library and look up a book. But it was very obnoxious to have to drive all the way there just for that information that we easily could get on the internet. That's true. I guess we take it for granted to some degree. Yep. All right. So, You've handed me the phone that contains this word. I don't know how to pronounce it. I would say, see, -- it's -- a hard word. I would say that it's probably not auto lies because that would be too straightforward. It's probably like all I will tell you if you ask. Well, I think we will have to ask, but we know that AI is not even necessarily right 100% of the time, which would be why it'd be better to look it up in a book and use the pronunciation guide to know how to pronounce it, but. We will take a quick break here and come right back with the correct pronunciation of this word, A U T O L Y S E. Auto lease. All right, we're back, so. There are actually conflicting pronunciations for this. So there are a lot of sources that have auto lies, which I think is actually how I said it, I guess we can listen to the recording, but I think that's what I said. And then it seems like a lot of bakers. Pronounce it auto lease, and that's actually on a lot of these guides to auto lease bread. And things of that nature, that it is auto lease. Let's check Reddit because that's actually hopefully real people, and we'll see what they say. Well, according to Reddit, they cite Alton Brown, and I would trust him, I think, for knowing how to pronounce this, especially as it relates to food and baking and All things chef related, that it is auto lease. OK, see, so that's why I need my phone, because it is difficult. Multiple people do not agree, but what do you think auto lease is? So, I would have thought maybe that it's some sort of chemical reaction. The LYSE has sort of that. Aspect of maybe something that is transforming or changing through like a chemical process. And I would have no idea what the auto would be, but like maybe like an automatic chemical reaction process or something like that, that, that's what it would mean, based on just the word alone because I have no context and did not know that it had anything to do with bread baking until this very evening. OK, well, you're pretty close. So when they're using it in recipes, It's kind of like the stage where you let it rise before you could do more stuff to it. So bread, sourdough, specifically, but other breads, I think too. You'll let them rest for a while, you'll mix, let it rest, and then let it rise. And then you mix, let it rest, let it rise. So if it's, it's gonna be much more dense and hard if you don't autoly sit. And then it's more fluffy and um airy, if you do. Interesting. So, it's actually, I guess based on some of the things that I'm looking at and maybe you've already done this research is that it's based on both Latin and Greek, that the lease is from Greek and then I guess that would make the auto from Latin and it does mean self, so auto as in self like autobiography, and then lease as in dissolving. So basically these Like you said, the elements of the bread are becoming one during this resting period by themselves. There's no action being performed, you're just letting it do its thing. Yeah, so when you were talking earlier about like the chemical in your head, you were thinking like a chemical reaction. It was kind of like that. So it's this natural self-rising or self blending. Process. And I guess as I'm reading through some of the Reddit comments here is that some of the confusion on the pronunciation is that this term. Became coined by a French chef who would have said autolise, because that would be more of the French pronunciation, but that maybe perhaps more of the English pronunciation would be auto lies. OK, super interesting. There you go. So if you want to be French and sound fancy, you can just say. On a lease. Of course, always want to be fancy. So, if you haven't guessed, this is the sourdough episode. We've been talking about for so long. I started my sourdough journey kind of reluctantly. I felt like back in like 2020, 2021, everybody was doing sourdough. And truth be told, I don't like the taste of it. And I just don't like trendy things. So, I didn't do it. I have some really, really close friends that absolutely love it, and it takes over their lives. And I've had friends that I've, like, hung out with, and they have their sourdough with them because they have to mix it. During our play date. And I just did not want basically another pet or something. But kind of around the same time we started the podcast last year. I just felt like we should. I don't know why um I started reading about it in health benefits. And we were trying to get healthier, and I was like, you know what, like, I'm gonna do this. And since then, I love it. I do it all the time. There you go. So, I think it was around the same time, like you said, that we did the podcast and I think we may have even referenced it in one of the 1st 10 episodes and then have been teasing it ever since, but now we're here to actually talk about it. Right. So if you do not want to do this, just turn off the podcast. Give us 5 stars and turn it off. No harm, no foul. But if you're interested, keep listening because it is so addicting and it is so. Fulfilling. Yeah, so fulfilling or rewarding. That is true, and I think it is pretty neat that you can. Take that Ingredient and mix it with other ingredients and then. something that I personally do enjoy eating, uh, on a regular basis and I think you've even done some different things with sourdough brownies and different styles of sourdough bread, and I think we've even used it for like pizza crust and things of that nature, so a lot of versatility that sourdough provides as well. Yeah, OK, on that note, months ago, I was telling my friends. They were validating to me that my mother is an amazing baker. Anyone that knows her just, she's got several recipes she's known for, very beloved. I take her recipes and I will follow them. I will have her help me in the kitchen. And I, I will admit I'm a little bit more. I was gonna say loose with the recipe. OK, that's, that's nice, but like when I'm trying with her recipe, I try so hard because I, people will eat my cookies. I'd be like. This isn't your mom's recipe, and it is, and I like. Use it step by step. If I'm in the kitchen with her, I'm like, do you have a secret recipe you're not giving me? But I watch her and I do the same thing. I'm not good at like measuring preciseness. So I was waiting to see what word you're gonna say, like flighty or that was the word that came to my mind. But like, you, -- you thought it not -- me. But you're smiling and naughty. So I've lived my entire life having people tell me like, your mom's such a good baker. Basically saying like, well, what happened to you? Why aren't you as good of a baker? So I love her cookies. I don't take offense, but I just can't do it. Even you tell me, like, this does not taste the same. But you love my sourdough, and everything like the brownies, all that, I make you enjoy so much and it makes me so happy. And I told my friends that, and they're like, something in your like body healed from like not living up to your mother's abilities. Like, you have this own thing, she doesn't do sourdough. You're a great sourdough baker. And so I'm like, I'm accepting that and my calling is sourdough. That is true. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the recipe or the lack of following it precisely. It could be the elevation, the water, who knows, there's a lot of different variables that come into play with baking because it is a relatively precise science. But I think, again, the versatility of sourdough allows some latitude with that and still have a very tasty product. And actually some of that variability is even, I think enjoyed because maybe there will be a particular batch that is more sour than a previous batch or whatever the case may be, and it actually adds to some of the varied experience that Makes it so that every different loaf is different. It may not be something that everybody enjoys or necessarily even something that would be looked upon favorably from mass consumption perspective because everybody wants the same experience, the same thing if they enjoyed it, but the fact that it is different actually is enjoyable to me to some degree that Maybe the bread tastes a little bit different each time. OK, so that makes sense. And then yay for my ability to not be precise. Cause yes, in a bakery, you have to be precise. If your customers come in and they like a certain sourdough sour level. In their sourdough It has to be that all the time. You can't have a variety. But I can see where you as just, you know, a family member, weekly getting bread, that it kind of changes up. And keeps you kind of on your toes or um your taste buds interested. Yeah, I think so, right? I mean, there's Certain sandwich shops that pride themselves on their bread, like, you know, Jimmy John's or Jersey Mike's where if that bread is different day to day or week to week that That could cause loss of a customer or whatever the case may be. McDonald's actually specifically makes this part of their strategy is to make sure that every McDonald's tastes exactly the same as every other McDonald's so that that customer experience. Results in another satisfied customer and not that they had something that tasted off that day and they never go back to a McDonald's. OK, in the future, can we, or another time, can we talk about McDonald's and their soda? I was listening to Joe Rogan today, and he was talking about that as a side note. Because McDonald's soda tastes better than anywhere else in the world, and there's a certain reason why. For reasons plural. I think they buy their syrup directly from Coke, and also I think it's stored or transported in a different format than most people. Does that have anything to do with it? Yeah. So, a quick overview, go listen to Joe Rogan saying, I don't want to steal his info. And I did not do research on this. I was just listening on my car ride home after dropping the kids off somewhere. But he was saying that, yes, the difference is MikeDonald's gets their coke syrup. In aluminum containers, where everyone else gets it in plastic. So that could be a difference. Also, they pre-chill their mixture. Before putting it in there. So it's like not diluted. Everyone else basically dilutes it then, because it's added with ice to cool it off. They pre-chill everything, so it's cold before they mix it together. That would make sense, and that aluminum thing is the thing that I was thinking of. I think they've always done it that way and they're like one of the only ones that do it that way. -- And -- occasionally, very rarely, especially at McDonald's, but occasionally or other places, right? When the mixture of the carbonation versus all the other stuff is not right. And you go to take that sit, and it's like, oh, so disappointing, right? And so frustrating. I can see as a need. As a consumer or a company, you need preciseness. Like, you do not want people to be on their toes, like, is it gonna be good this time? Is it sour? Is it bland? Is it whatnot? But as a family member that's eating this weekly, It is probably enjoyable to mix it up. Yep, and I think that is part of the reason that I enjoy the variety of sourdough. So what do sourdough people call themselves? Because like you said, this has been trendy, probably more so, I guess in 2023, 2024. I feel like we're maybe a little bit late to the party and it doesn't really seem like I've seen as much recently. Like there was even Netflix specials on like home bakers and bread and stuff like maybe a year or two ago, and now it seems like maybe it's not quite as quote unquote trendy, but Your thoughts on the trendiness and what you would refer to yourself as. Yes, I do think that we were late to the party. Like I said earlier, I intentionally avoided it because I do not like bandwagons, but I finally gave in. I'm like, oh, I could have done this years ago. So, I don't know the title that we're called. Just sourdough bakers, or I know a big thing that, again, I don't do because probably my issue with being a bandwagoner, but a big thing is people name their sourdough, you know that? I have heard that before, yeah. And I do love it, cause I love a good pun. So people often have puns for their sourdough. But I do not name mine. I intentionally don't. And people will ask sometimes like, what's your sourdough starter's name? I don't name it. And I don't have a good reason why. I just don't desire to. It's just the sourdough. Interesting. Yeah, I think that's Fair enough. Like if it was a group of men that was doing this, I think they would call themselves the sour bros. See, I love a good pun. It's so good. It's weird that I won't do it, but I won't. I refuse. Now, a long time ago, when we thought we were going to do the sourdough episode, I did look up this and at the time, I think as sort of an insult people referred to this trend as And the group of people that partook in it, particularly as trad wives. That's what I was gonna say. If I was gonna call it anything, the word trad wife comes up. But I don't feel like that's very catchy, nor is meant in like a very positive way. Oh, I think that trad wives. are proud of being child wives. So for the listeners out there, do you care to explain what that trad wife actually stands for or what it means? Yes, trad wife, as far as I understand it, would be just shorthand for traditional wife. So this would be In like the grand scheme and there's all these different connotations that come in and biases. In my head, a proud wife, AKA traditional wife. Is a woman who stays home. Homeschools her kids, has several kids, does the sourdough, maybe grinds her own grain, has, has chickens and a garden. And her husband works, and that's like their life. So it's like going back to what it used to be like traditional. In like the early 1900s. Like usually they wear. Lawn dresses, maybe floral lawn flowy dresses, and I am not a trad wife. I feel like I unintentionally exhibit some of those things because they appeal to me. I'm not doing it to make a stance or anything. If you're a working person, I used to work, I do not currently. I do homeschool, but again, it's not for me, it's not a stance. It is just, uh, what's in front of us right now. But I do, do you remember that time that like I was at an event and you came to pick me up and you're like, oh, this is your people. And they're all dressed exactly like me in a lawn floral dress. I do remember that. And you're in fact wearing a floral print shirt right now. Well, So, yes, um. So it appeals to me. I'm, I'm not trying to be a trad wife, but I don't know. You're just one by default or your trad wife adjacent. Yeah, either of those is fine, I guess. It's, I guess my biggest thing is, and again, not being the bandwagon, it's probably the issue. I feel like some trad wives, it's a stance, like against The government or against. The patriarchy or I don't know what they're doing, you know, like, it's a stance. Mine's not a stance. It's just I really like homeschooling my kids and I love wearing dresses with flowers on them. Well, there you go. So I guess no particular puns that the sourdough bakers refer to themselves, but it sounds like perhaps that category of trad wife is not as negatively connotated as I thought. But do you think trad wife is a negative connotation? Like if someone said, your wife is such a trad wife. Would you take offense? It would really depend on who it was coming from. Like if I did not know that person and they were like just said that to me on the street because they saw us or something, I would definitely take that as a insult. OK. Now if it's in more of our normal circles that we are in, then yes, that's probably meant as actually a compliment. OK, -- so -- what's offensive to you about being a wife? Well, nothing is offensive to me as with that term, nor do I find anything that you described that is categorized within that description offensive, but I think people in the modern day and age use that as sort of a insult against traditional values. But we do intentionally, you work and I say home, and that is intentional. Yeah, that is true. I again don't have any issue with the term nor the categories contained within. It's just that I don't think that. Maybe the Everyday person would agree with that. Maybe it's a silent majority, maybe not, but I feel like that. At least a lot of the things that I see within the media would portray Trad wife as sort of a negative connotation. You know, I think a lot hearing you talk, cause in my head I'm like, you should be proud. Like, yes, I work, so my wife stays home, like, To me, that should be like a pride thing for you, like, I make enough that she can stay home. Not like we're rolling, rolling in the dough, but. You do, you work. Now we're letting the dough rise. Exactly, I'll see it depends, but. I think part of it, I don't know, you can call it my negativity or whatnot. I hear people always be like, you should be proud that, like if I say I'm a stay at home mom, like, oh no, you're so much more than that. I guess, but I'm not saying it in a negative way. I don't feel bad about it. I'm really, I like it. And I think in society, People need to like, that's bad, or you should feel bad about it, like, that you're not providing enough to society, and I don't feel that way at all. So I think maybe that's why I don't feel trad wife, like, I hear some people use it really negatively, or even tried wives themselves, like, their political stances are not mine. So that's where I'd stand back, but like. I don't feel bad that I stopped working to be with my kids. I don't think everyone should. I think it's great that women work. And I love that I don't have to. Well, there you go, and maybe the negative connotations that I'm perceiving in. Mainstream media is just part of Operation Mockingbird. OK, I still don't know what that is, that next week's episode, or are we going to talk about it right now? Well, we have asked our listeners to determine if they would like to hear more about that, and I think it's actually quite relevant with some of the news that is coming out about the USAID or as some people like to refer to it as US aid, but that has nothing to do with anything related to the US nor aid. So perhaps that will be something that we talk about next time or we'll just use it for 35+ episodes and get to it later. No, cause I want to know what it is, and also, I don't have the motivation to Google it myself or look on Reddit. So I'm just gonna go on and like post anonymously on our, say, tell me what it is. Oh, there you go. So, we'll end this episode with a joke because I have Been saving this joke for however long it has been, it probably has been close to 30 episodes. And typically I'm not really a joke person, but I thought this was funny and maybe it's because it is a pun, but there were a husband and wife, and they were at a marriage conference and they were sitting together and listening to the lecturer and you know, the lecturer was going on about how that. There are certain things that, you know, make marriages difficult and some of that has to do with knowledge of the other person and what they like and desire in the relationship. And the example that he gave at that precise moment was, and he spoke to the men, I bet you don't even know what your wife's favorite flower is. And the husband nudged the wife and looked her in the eye and whispered, it's self rising, isn't it? That's a good one. That's a good one. I know what kind of humor you like. Oh yeah. So, from your friends at I Hate Talking, until next time, remember, it is only through talking that we begin the journey to understanding.