I used to roll my eyes at the clearance bin (thought it was all gray mush and mystery packages), but my sister finally dragged me to the one at her store and I ate my words. Got a pork shoulder for six bucks that fed us pulled pork for three days, plus a pack of chicken thighs for under four. Now I swing by Tuesday and Thursday mornings before work and just cook whatever I find, saves me close to eighty a week. Kinda mad I waited this long to try it.

The "glass jar lid instead of plastic wrap" thing got me. I used to roll my eyes at people who swore by switching covers, figured it was just another sourdough myth. Then my bowl kept drying out on top and I finally tried a lid and yeah, the rise was way better, so I was wrong on that one. Weighing the starter instead of eyeballing it probably did as much work as the lid though, since 50 grams is 50 grams every time and your dough will act the same way each bake. So my bet is you fixed two things at once and both mattered.