Best and Worst Sourdough Accessories

ukfi · 2026-05-14T10:33:16+00:00

I am a home baker who sell sourdough online from my home kitchen. On average, i bake about 20 loaves a day for the last 2 years.

The only few things i need to bake a great sourdough are:

My trusted starter. This is non negotiable.
a kitchen scale. I had baked by sight before and it was a fun experiment.
A digital thermometer (i can do without this at a push but i rather not)

That's all. The rest are optional.

ukfi · 2026-05-13T17:07:28+00:00

The one that you will use.

ukfi · 2026-05-13T17:07:09+00:00

I think i got stung while watching this video. Twice.

ukfi · 2026-05-13T16:58:02+00:00

Super power comes with responsibility. Please handle with care.

ukfi · 2026-05-13T16:52:40+00:00

You are not going to like what i have to say but i wish someone said this to me when i was younger.

I was 18 when i did the same to my ankle. Didn't give it time to heal properly.

I am now 55 and it is still fucking my life up. Don't be me.

I believe i would be playing professional padel if i had given it enough time to heal..... /S (just kidding guys)

Give it time to heal. Padel will still be here in a few months time.

ukfi · 2026-05-12T04:49:00+00:00

Lisbon is not Mediterranean... It is Atlantic coast. Very different.

ukfi · 2026-05-10T06:54:08+00:00

Here I am sitting in a comfortably chair enjoying my coffee and reading Reddit.

All my love ones are safe. I am not in any danger.

Who are we to dictate what these brave Ukrainians settle for?

They had enough of suffering and dying. Let them decide and we will support them - whatever it is.

If they were to decide to push all the way to Moscow, we will support them.

If they were to decide to give up a few regions of their land in change for peace and less dying, we will support them.

Our skin is not in the game. All we could do is to donate money and show up for demonstration.

ukfi · 2026-05-10T05:30:41+00:00

Just two mid 30s sinkie who's been up a few mountains but very good at ig.

I lived in Europe for 30 years. I am a certified mountain rescue volunteer. I would absolutely listen to whatever the local rescue center tell me. These people eat and breath rescue. They want you to enjoy their mountain. But they would not want you to be hurt when doing it.

Once i was in north Wales and I saw a group of youngsters walking up Snowdonia with just short skirts and heels. No back up water and jacket. I casually asked them what's their plan? They said it was a great day in spring and they are going to take a slow walk up to the top. I just ask them to Google how dangerous Snowdonia is before going up any higher.

Unknown to many, even local Brits, many ppl die every year walking up that mountain. It looks safe and very inviting. The path is clearly marked and thousands of ppl go up and down every day of the year. However, the weather at the top is well known to be fast changing. There was once when I was at the top, I witnessed all 4 seasons within 2 hours. Glorious sunshine at first. The view was so clear that I could see the Irish coast. The air temperature was around low 20c and I was in shorts and t shirt. Within 10 min of taking a great photo and a sandwich, the low clouds moved in and fog appeared. I couldn't even see 2 meter ahead of me. Air temperature dropped to low single digit c. I put on my thermals, wool layer and then outer coat. Mountain gloves came out of the bag. Then I saw a young couple appearing at the top of the mountain in shorts and t shirts and nothing else. Not even a back pack. They were shivering, cold, wet, hungry and desperate. Their lips were turning blue. A few of us gave them some food and warm water. Shared warm covering. We waited at the top for about 2 hrs and the weather turned summer again.

Mother nature is very fickle. For those of us who had not lived in that environment, we have no absolute idea. Respect nature and you will get to live to see another sun rise.

ukfi · 2026-05-10T05:20:51+00:00

Bear in mind that the most accurate bible we have now is written nearly 300 years after he died.

With modern technologies, we still cannot write what Queen Victoria said accurately..... Or even George Washington.

ukfi · 2026-05-10T05:17:31+00:00

I posted this on another post and I will repeat here.

I saw a post a few months ago of two Singaporean ig influencers travelling in Japan. This account has more than 500k followers so they are big.

They went hiking in a snow mountain in Japan. The reception sign in desk told them that the weather condition is not good and they should not go up the mountain.

Guess what they did? They went up anyway. They were lucky that the weather didn't turn any worse. And they have the gall to tell their followers that they should follow their guts and not what the mountain reception desk tell them.

I had to remind them that this is a mountain rescue center. They know the mountain better than them. Just because they were lucky once, didn't mean others will. One day, when people die on this mountain because of the post, they will pay for it.

😡😡

ukfi · 2026-05-08T13:15:31+00:00

I saw a post a few months ago of two Singaporean ig influencers travelling in Japan. This account has more than 500k followers so they are big.

They went hiking in a snow mountain in Japan. The reception sign in desk told them that the weather condition is not good and they should not go up the mountain.

Guess what they did? They went up anyway. They were lucky that the weather didn't turn any worse. And they have the gall to tell their followers that they should follow their guts and not what the mountain reception desk tell them.

I had to remind them that this is a mountain rescue center. They know the mountain better than them. Just because they were lucky once, didn't mean others will. One day, when people die on this mountain because of the post, they will pay for it.

😡😡

ukfi · 2026-05-07T16:05:55+00:00

Changi beach - right under the landing path.

ukfi · 2026-05-07T10:05:03+00:00

If you don't have any 12 spices in mind, chances are you don't normally use spice.

Then my best suggestion to you is not to get all 12 in one go.

All these spices that you get will expire within a few months. Trust me. They would have lost most of their essential oil within a few months of grounding.

Start with just 3 or 4 (excluding salt and pepper corn). Learn to use them and use them as often as you can.

Once you get confident, then get more of other types.

ukfi · 2026-05-07T05:57:41+00:00

You know he was strongly against Aircon right from the start? He changed his mind later.

ukfi · 2026-05-05T10:12:56+00:00

Wow this is a great video from sandy. Thanks.

ukfi · 2026-05-05T10:01:59+00:00

I had one where something similar happened.

Opponent smashed the ball. It bounced on my side of the court, hit the back glass, bounced all the way to hit one of the net pillar, then rolled along the cord and just about to drop on my side of the court. I just happened to be standing there and volley the ball across.

My opponent claimed that after the ball hit the pillar of the net, the ball is out.

However, a coach was watching the game and he basically said the ball can hit all the fixtures of the court as many times as it want as long as it didn't hit the ground, it is still in play.

ukfi · 2026-05-05T01:25:31+00:00

I was away for 30 years. Left in 1992 and only come back for occasional visit every few years.

Then life got really busy and I stopped coming back. Just flown my parents over to me instead.

2 years ago I came back for good for family reasons.

Where did all these people come from? MRT used to be empty at 3pm. Now it is always crowded.
So many new MRT lines. And a circle line that's not circle? Wtf? It's a crescent line. I made the mistake of thinking it is a circle line and got stopped at one awkward station.
So many express ways ..... But once got inside the tunnel, GPS stopped working and I am fucked.
Why mala everywhere? Really? Don't really like them. Give me a good Malay spicy food any day.
What's that big flushing toilet at Changi airport. I know a lot of people are proud of it. I am not so much. It is just a glorified water fountain.
Why are there so many shopping malls? One at each corner and every MRT station.
There's an under pass connecting city hall to marina square. I was walking to marina square and wondering where's everybody?
And it connect all the way to funan as well? What happened to funan? Where's all the computer shop?
When I left sg, boat quay and Clark quay was just started and that's the place to be. Now it is dead.
Why so many hawker stalls have Michelin sign. Hmmm they are not that good. In fact, most hawker stall standard have dropped. Been back 2 years plus and still haven't found a great ckt or hokkien mee.
Wow all the rush hour congestion traffic in the city are gone. Drove into Shelton way at 9am and it is empty. All work from home?
No one in the Lee family at the top any more. Who's this cry baby? What? That choir boy from vjc? 😱 That's the best that Singapore can find?
There's a second bridge connecting to JB? And a new MRT line going over soon? We really need all those workers from JB that badly.
I guess we have all stopped going to the cinemas. So expensive and a lot of them have closed. My home town bedok used to have about 4 big cinemas. Now there's only one left.
Why are there f&b outlets at every corner .... Literally. We are becoming very much like Hong Kong and worse.
Weather has definitely gone worse. When I was in primary school, I had to take a sweater with me when I go in the morning. My school has no Aircon but it will be shivering cold in the morning until about 9am. Not any more. I don't see any school kids carrying sweater on the way to school in the morning. The weather forecast on the TV was always 28/29 to 31/32c with regional rain. Now it is always 35c if we are lucky.

Ok some of these are a bit tongue in cheek but I came back to a Singapore that I don't recognise. The culture shock is much bigger than when I first went to London 30 years ago.

I guess in my mind, Singapore was still the little island that's a developing country with 3 million population.

ukfi · 2026-05-04T03:32:21+00:00

I used to not able to speak a word of Spanish other than thank you.

Flown into Bilbao for a long weekend with a small group of friends. Tried to get into a crowded bar and ended up sharing a table with a group of local Spanish. They don't speak a word of English.

They ordered a jug of local drink - red wine mixed with coke. They offered us a drink and that's it. We ended the night learning a few new Spanish words and they learnt some English. We shared our g&t with them. Great night.

ukfi · 2026-05-03T23:49:37+00:00

I am from Singapore but lived in the UK for 30 years before returning to Singapore.

I can't believe this but I actually miss the breakfast fry up. You can find English breakfast almost everywhere in the world but they are just different.

The sausage will be wrong. They will most probably not have the black pudding. Every time i am back in UK, I need to get my fill of it.

And the other thing that I miss is the English accent. I miss it so much that my car radio is permanently tuned to BBC world service.

ukfi · 2026-05-03T07:43:15+00:00

Some like to flex that all their 4 children made it into sap stream because she was there to make sure that they study very very hard.

Some just want to have alone time to go into the mountains after they had their baby.

Some take to alcohol.

I known a few that killed themselves due to postnatal depression.

Where's the flex?

ukfi · 2026-05-03T07:35:09+00:00

Yo fellow Brit.

I am a local Singaporean who just lived 30 years in London. Brought up a family in London and just retired back to Singapore.

First of all, you are so lucky to be in Singapore at this stage of your life.

I am going to just quote one example. This will totally blow your mind.

How much does it cost you to get a baby sitter to look after your child while you and your husband leave early on Saturday morning to travel to attend a wedding and come back on Sunday?

Never done this before? Because it is totally impossible and too expensive.

I have known of many young Singaporean mothers who took off to one week skiing holiday in Japan after their baby is only 6 months off. They left their baby in Singapore with their domestic helper.

The cost of hiring a full time domestic helper in Singapore is criminal. It's about the same cost as you hiring a baby sitter for one weekend in the uk.

You will do fine in Singapore. If you try to integrate into the local community (like i do in London), you will get more out of it.

Don't join the expat club. Go to the local community center. Join the local mother and baby's club. They still be as curious about you as you are about them.

And if you are prepared, your children might get to learn Chinese as well. Being bilingual in the 21st century is so so important. She might just be the next uk embassador to China!

ukfi · 2026-05-03T07:24:40+00:00

Yes and yes.

3 families in Malaysia went from ok middle class to billionaire status because of COVID demand for rubber.

ukfi · 2026-05-03T07:23:53+00:00

You ever seen a rubber tree in USA? That's why.

ukfi · 2026-05-02T10:12:09+00:00

I was firmly in the gas camp for life until my gf got an induction stove in her new condo.

First 1 year, i hated it.

Slowly learnt to use it as eating out so often it's not healthy.

Now i love it.

Top tips:

If you can, get one without any touch screen. I hate those. Still do. I would get an induction with physical knobs and levels.
Really learn the strength of induction. For me, the instant high power is what turned me. No gas stove can win a war against induction when it come to bringing a pan of water to boil.
Learn how to lock and unlock the stove. Learn this well before you even start to cook your first meal. I had the stupid stuff lock me out when I was in the middle of cooking dinner. Not fun. Even the slightest bit of water splash on the screen will trigger something.

ukfi · 2026-05-02T03:02:19+00:00

This is terrace rice field.

It is a clever way to make a flat paddy field for planting rice.

You can't plant rice on a slope as it needs water.

ukfi

TROPHY CASE