There's often a skill that seem interesting, but I can't see doing anything for me in my day-to-day life. What have you learned that was a lot more effort than the payoff was worth?

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[–] 18 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Making tofu from scratch. Also sourdough.

I love cooking in all forms, and there are a lot of things I happily do from scratch. I love baking bread, making my own oat milk, mixing up my own seitan from vital wheat gluten, and a whole bunch of other things.

But making tofu was something I tried a bunch of times and have ultimately given up on. It is extremely time consuming, very difficult to get right, and makes a worse product than what I can buy at the store. It isn't even cheaper to do, as the cost of the soybeans and the cost of the premade tofu are about the same. I may make it on occasion if I plan on serving it on its own as a dish with soy sauce, but that is about it.

With sourdough, I found it easy to get into, but my husband and I both prefer our baked goods to be not sour, and we both have pretty sensitive tastebuds in that regard. It is easier for me to just use instant yeast whenever I need it and make something we both prefer to eat.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    One day sourdough is not sour, and still easier than using commercial yeast. When I'm making sandwich bread I do it in a condensed timeline and the starter just works like a more robust version of yeast. You don't have to make "the sourdough" as my kids call it (they ask for it because they like it but I do understand y'all's preference.)

    I use my starter to make bread, cinnamon rolls, donuts, once a puff pastry that was so annoying to make but maybe the best thing I've ever tasted. I just don't buy yeast anymore.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    I am not sure why, but my one day sourdoughs were still sour to me, and they would usually get more sour as the days passed after baking. I think it is because I live in a humid area that also tends to be cooler, as climate does impact the taste.

    I am glad you got it to work for you! But for me it is cheaper to buy the yeast in a large block and use that.

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