I have sourdough starter in my fridge and have tried making two rounds of bread. I write this as a civilian, for others who will never elevate baking above a hobby.
I will begin with a picture of my first bread:
That’s not very fluffy but not terrible. It was real bread to go with butter or soup. My neighbor’s starter was in great condition when she gave it to me, and I followed the standard recipe. I use 80% bread flour and 20% whole wheat flour to make it healthier.
Below I will speculate on whether sourdough projects are a good use of time or not. Call it home economics.
The first thing to know about bread is that it involves many steps over time. You have to plan a bread loaf days in advance. You wake the starter, make the dough, mess with the dough, and let it sit for a specific numbers of hours.
A lot can go wrong along the way. My second attempt at making dough was less successful:
This is the classic failed bread of a beginner. Not fluffy enough. Do I regret making it?
I had to be home anyway. Between the bread-making steps I was cleaning up homemade slime and directing children.
After letting the failed bread cool for an hour, I cut it into cubes and added butter. I handed these cubes to the slime-making children and neighbor kids. They liked it so much they asked for seconds. Feeding kids anything that contains zero sugar and zero preservatives is a win. I’ll try bread again next weekend.
This YouTube video has millions of views and gives a good sense of why people are claiming that homemade sourdough is healthier than store-bought shelf-stable bread.
Why Medieval Bread Was A Superfood While Your Modern Bread Makes You Sick
Why do people buy that evil shelf-stable bread? Baking real bread is so labor intensive that it makes me appreciate the fake stuff. You will find me at MegaMart buying AgriCorp bread (now with extra chromosomes!).
In my opinion, most Americans should not make time for sourdough baking. It’s almost like taking on a small pet, since you must maintain the starter. The opportunity cost is too high, especially for people near cities who can buy good bread.
I’m planning to maintain a weekly rhythm of pancakes and weekend bread for at least a month. Here’s how I make the starter jar in my fridge feel worthwhile.
On Wednesday night, I prepare a pancake batter base with starter, milk and flour (20% whole wheat). That sits in the fridge overnight. As per “Best Sourdough Pancakes”:
Here, I’ve combined the best of both worlds with an overnight pancake batter. As the batter sits, the flavor will intensify making a notable difference when compared to regular pancakes. You’ll also get the added benefit of fermentation. On the overnight, the natural acids in the starter help to break down those pesky glutenous enzymes making these pancakes easier to digest.
I don’t know if the above statement is true in the most objective sense. If you’ve been looking for a cult to join, this isn’t a bad one.
On Thursday morning, I use half of that batter to make pancakes (add the egg, salt, baking powder). It’s not much more work than just making homemade pancakes, with the important caveat of needing to plan your meals ahead of time. Sourdough would not work for someone who has an unpredictable schedule. On Friday morning, I use the other half of the sourdough batter. These pancakes have great structure. You need a topping for flavor. Kids just get syrup, but you could think of a healthier topping like fruit preserves.
Baking bread on Sunday requires feeding the starter on Friday or possibly even a mid-week adjustment if you think your starter isn’t doing well. Making the actual dough takes some time on Saturday. It’s not bad if you were already going to be at home between steps.
If you travel, that starter can live in a jar in the fridge undisturbed for a while.
The third and probably only other thing I find worth doing with sourdough is using the discard to make Sourdough Cheese Crackers. Crackers require no planning ahead. I made a small batch on parchment paper in an air fryer. You don’t need to dump starter in the trash if you have a discard recipe on hand that you like.
This guy seems thoughtful:
If there is anything that should be obvious here is that sourdough bread typically takes a lot of time.
Casual observation: I’m in a Facebook group for sourdough help. It seems like most people in the comments are well-meaning older people. I am forming an impression that half of the posts with images are AI-generated slop that drives engagement to bad sites. The next generation is not going to put up with this. Facebook is in trouble.
Sat night update: my third try is the best so far although a true expert would call this “over proofed”
Economist Writing Every Day 