I LEARNED TO LET THE DOUGH PROVE My sourdough starter nearly broke me. I fed it, stared at it, and lifted the lid again and again like it owed me an answer. Nothing happened, and I was sure I'd killed it. An old baker down the road laughed when I told him this. He said the yeast was working whether I watched or not, and that every time I poked it I let the warmth out. So I put the jar somewhere warm…fed it on schedule and left it alone. Then one morning, it had climbed right up the glass, sour, alive and bubbling. I think about that jar every time this market goes quiet and I catch myself refreshing charts like I'm lifting the lid. The work I did choosing what I own is already done, and the waiting is the part that does the rest. Poking it doesn't make it rise faster. It only lets the warmth out. My best loaves came from the days I trusted the process and kept my hands off the jar.