The First Chapter of Her Love Language
- Carolina Apolinario
- Mar 21
- 4 min read
It’s been a couple of months since I opened Her Love Language as a micro bakery, and what a journey! Some days, I feel like I’ve got its all under control. Other days, I look around the kitchen, and see endless piles of dishes, flour on every surface (including myself), and dough stuck in places it definitely shouldn’t be, and I just sit there questioning my life choices.
Now listen, nobody warns you about the dishes. I mean, people tell you that baking takes time and that a sourdough starter requires love and care, but the dishes? Oh, they are never-ending. I finish one batch of bread, and suddenly, there’s a mountain of dishes staring at me like, “Hey, we’re back!” And flour? I don’t even know how, but I’m always covered in it. On my clothes, sometimes even in my hair (??). At this point, I don’t know what to wear anymore. Dark clothes? I look like I lost a fight with a flour bag. White clothes? Don’t even get me started.
My Sourdough Starter Journey
In the beginning, it was a disaster... it really was. The weather was too cold, and my starter refused to wake up. I kept feeding it, talking to it (as one does when they’re desperate), and waiting for some sign of life. Then, out of nowhere, it exploded, literally! It grew so much that I ran out of containers to store it. I was splitting it into jars, giving some away (shoutout to my friends and family who adopted my starter babies), and at one point, I had an army of starters taking over my kitchen. It was either bake way too much bread or throw some away, and I was not about to waste all that effort.
Eventually, I got myself together, did some research, and now I have just one container of starter, my little reliable fermentation buddy. That’s when George was born, named after the curious little monkey because, like him, he's always hungry and full of life! I almost named my sourdough starter Dolores, but George won in the end. So, when I was gifted a fridge just for my baking ingredients, I decided to name her Dolores instead, now she keeps George safe and thriving! Also, fun fact: starter is nearly impossible to clean when it dries. It’s basically cement. The moment it sticks to a surface and dries, it’s game over. I don’t know what’s worse, trying to remove dried starter from a bowl or cleaning up after an intense flour explosion. Both are equally painful.
A Valentine’s Month to Remember
February was an exciting month as I fully embraced a Valentine’s theme. I experimented with a beetroot sourdough loaf to see if I could achieve a deep reddish-pink hue, and it worked! But the highlight of the month was receiving my first big bulk order: ten boxes of my Cupid Charm brownies. That was a huge moment for me. I had to pause and take it in. People really wanted to buy my baked goods. It was both thrilling and terrifying, but above all, I was incredibly grateful.
One thing I’ve learnt is that business is unpredictable. Some weeks, it’s quiet, and I wonder if anyone even remembers I exist. Other weeks, I get bombarded with messages and orders, and suddenly, I’m baking non-stop, running around like a headless chicken. It’s tiring, yes. But at the end of the day, this is something I truly love doing. I’ve found a way to express love, warmth, and care through food. And even though I have moments of exhaustion, moments where I question if I’m completely out of my mind, I’m still grateful. Because somehow, in between all the flour-covered counters and late-night baking sessions, I’ve created something real.
This past month, I experimented with dates sourdough bread (amazing!), and I keep telling myself I’ll make bagels soon, but for some reason, every time I plan to do so, something happens and I don't end up doing them. I’ve also been testing out new things, like playing around with different bread shapes and sizes. I may or may not have ended up making a massive 3kg bread loaf. We had some family friends over and decide to prepare some bread for us to have with my mom's tomato soup, which was honestly ridiculous but also kind of fun. Would I do it again? Probably. Should I? Questionable.
I also want to share a recipe on the blog soon, and I’d love to hear what you guys want to see! Beetroot sourdough? Something Easter-themed? Let me know in the comments!
At the end of the day, whether my starter cooperates or flour explodes everywhere, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Baking has become my way of expressing myself, and I’m excited to keep going, one loaf, one experiment, and one chaotic kitchen moment at a time.
From her kitchen, with love ♡
留言