Yeast Mode | Sourdough Side Hustles and Breadwinners

In this episode, Monika sits down with her sister Jess for a hilarious, heartfelt look into Jess’s sourdough-fueled double life. Between raising two kids, working full-time at the bank, and running her micro-bakery, Jess somehow manages to keep her starter alive—and her sanity mostly intact. The two dive into the emotional rollercoaster of maintaining a sourdough starter, the chaos and victories of building a home bakery from scratch, and the baking disasters that definitely deserved a moment of silence. Jess also shares her best advice for aspiring bakers and reminds us that balance isn’t about perfection—it’s about embracing the mess, laughing through it, and rising anyway.

Takeaways

✨ Sourdough baking requires patience and care — basically like raising a tiny, bubbly gluten baby.

👩‍👧‍👦 Balancing motherhood and a career is wild, exhausting, and somehow still rewarding.

🍞 Starting a micro bakery is a hustle, but for passionate bakers, it’s pure magic.

🫙 Feeding a sourdough starter? Yep, it’s basically keeping a pet that lives in the fridge.

🧘‍♀️ Baking can be the ultimate stress therapy… until the loaf collapses, then it’s character-building.

🤝 Asking for help when you're overwhelmed isn’t weakness — it’s survival.

🔥 Every baking disaster is just a spicy life lesson disguised as a burnt loaf.

🚧 Setting boundaries is crucial unless you want to become a human pretzel.

🎢 Finding joy in the chaos of parenting is essential… and sometimes the only option.

🌾 Every baker has their own journey, their own disasters, and their own delicious comeback story.

✨🍞 If your love language is carbs… I’ve got someone you need to meet.Go check out @simplysourdoughbakery_ — home of the coziest, crispiest, most soul-healing sourdough you’ll ever taste.Handmade with love (and a little chaos), every loaf comes straight from Jess’s kitchen, where motherhood, late-night baking, and pure passion all rise together. 💛Whether you’re a fellow carb lover, a home baker, or just here for pretty bread pics, this is your sign to give her page a follow and show some love.

Go support a small biz, a hardworking mama, and the queen of crust herself. 👑

🥖IG: @simplysourdoughbakery_ — your new happy place. ✨

📜Orders: https://www.hotplate.com/simplysourdoughbakery

Keywords

sourdough, baking, motherhood, micro bakery, parenting, life balance, bread making, baking tips, entrepreneurship, family