Jake Gyllenhaal whispered to his rising homemade bread, and people are raving about the actor's sourdough starter expertise

• In an episode "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" released on Wednesday, actor Jake Gyllenhaal admitted that he has found himself "falling in love with sourdough."
• Host Stephen Colbert proceeded to ask Gyllenhaal for bread-making advice, and the actor responded by displaying a rising loaf of sourdough and whispering to it.
• "It's not yet fully rising, but it's on its way," Gyllenhaal said in a hushed voice.
• Fans and viewers of the show couldn't enough of the serious way in which Gyllenhaal tended to his sourdough starter.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jake Gyllenhaal and host Stephen Colbert recently bonded over their newfound affinity for making bread from scratch.

It's no wonder that the actor and late-night TV show host have taken to making their own bread, as it's recently become a popular pastime. Some people are turning loaves into edible works of art, while others have gotten creative by trying bread recipes that don't require a sourdough starter.

In an episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" that was released on Wednesday, Gyllenhaal talked about how he got his start with the art of homemade bread-making, and he appeared to whisper to his rising loaf of bread.

"I've found myself falling in love with sourdough," Gyllenhaal told Colbert. "I have a good friend who's a baker in San Francisco . . . we were talking, and I hate this, but I was like, 'Can you teach me how to do a sourdough starter?' And off I went."

Colbert then showed Gyllenhaal his container of sourdough bread starter, which was in a plastic container.

He asked Gyllenhaal for baking advice: "Now what do I do?"

Gyllenhaal responded by lifting a rising loaf of homemade bread to the camera.

"To go from that, to this, which is resting. It's not yet fully rising, but it's on its way," Gyllenhaal said in a whisper.

"What I do with it, is I take the starter, and then you have to get a nicer wheat flour," Gyllenhaal told Colbert. "You make what they call, in America, a pre-ferment. You let that rest for 12 to 24 hours, and then, you can start mixing it up into some other flour, and then make your dough."

Gyllenhaal's soothing yet serious way of tending to his rising sourdough — and the nearly five minutes of the episode he spent talking about bread — seemed to capture the hearts of fans and viewers of the show.

Gyllenhaal also spoke to Colbert about his performance in a musical tribute to Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, as well as his attempt at the T-Shirt handstand challenge after being tagged by his "Spider-Man: Far From Home" costar Tom Holland.

• Read more:
• 30 recipes from celebrities that you can make at home
• Mariah Carey shared a photo of a 'surprise cake' she made, and her fans are confused by its decorations — and her kitchen setup
• I made banana bread using 4 different celebrity recipes, and the best one was the easiest to make