If you’ve ever sliced into a loaf of sourdough and thought, “Why doesn’t mine look like the ones on Instagram?” — this episode is for you.

Somewhere along the way, sourdough baking became a performance. Giant holes, dramatic crumb shots, dark blistered crusts… and suddenly people feel like their bread isn’t good enough.

But here’s the truth: big holes do not automatically mean better bread.

In this episode, I’m breaking down five sourdough mistakes that almost nobody talks about — especially in the Instagram era — including:

• why chasing dramatic holes can actually lead to uneven fermentation
 • what balanced crumb really looks like
 • why high hydration isn’t always better
 • how overhandling dough during shaping affects structure
 • and why comparing your bread to someone else’s kitchen will drive you crazy

We’ll also talk about what actually matters in sourdough baking: even fermentation, balanced structure, and bread that you genuinely enjoy eating.

Because the real goal isn’t impressing Instagram — it’s making bread that tastes amazing to you.

If you'd like to build calm, repeatable confidence in your baking, you can learn more inside my Sourdough Made Easy Online Class.