Wild Yeast Sourdough Simplified - A Tutorial

I developed my simplified sourdough a few years ago to shorten the process from the typical way I used to make sourdough bread, which was either a 28- or 36-hour process (from first feeding of the starter to time to shape the loaf). That was fine for me at that time, but when that became inconvenient I came up with my Sourdough Simplified method.

For quite some time, that was wonderful. Still is, but as my starter matured and the two rise times shortened, the bread was just not the same. While still good, it lost most of its characteristic tang and chewiness. And I'm afraid Mr Delightful has gotten spoiled with his homemade sourdough toast every morning of his life and has gotten quite particular!

Well, I was not inclined to go back to the original process, so I added a step—a pre-ferment—to my simplified sourdough process. And it worked! So I wanted to write up this postscript for you so that if you are working with a mature starter but want to speed things up as much as you can without sacrificing flavor and texture, you can. This shortens the usual method by 10 to 18 hours from start to shaping.

If you think sourdough is too much trouble, you will be amazed at how trouble-free this method really is. There is none of that annoying feeding and discarding, no having to cater to your starter to keep it going. Just put your little pint jar in the refrigerator and neglect it for weeks or months at a time until you want to make bread. Then stir it up, take out what you need, replenish it, and forget about it until next time.

The following schedule is my schedule. You can pick any time you want. And these times are approximate because there are many variables. The main thing is that you pick a time, probably in the morning, on a day that you want to make the bread; subtract 12 hours from that and start your pre-ferment at that time.

My schedule for this is: 

Day 1 —  6:00pm Make the pre-ferment and let rise for 12 hours. Replenish the jar of starter.

Day 2 —  6:00am Make the dough. Let rise until doubled (variable, but mine currently takes 5 1/2 hours). 

Day 2 —11:30am (variable) Shape the loaf. Let rise until doubled (variable, but mine currently takes 2 hours).

Day 2 —  1:30pm (variable) Bake.

For me, this schedule means I can stir up the pre-ferment after dinner (I do Intermittent Fasting and don't eat after 6:00pm) and forget about it till I get up the next morning and make the dough. Then I have several hours to myself before it's time to shape the loaf and then 2 hours till I need to preheat the oven, bake, and take it out of the oven. So by 2:15pm, the finished loaf is cooling off and so am I!

If you're new to wild yeast (no added commercial yeast) sourdough baking or you just don't currently have a starter, I've outlined my streamlined starting a starter process in the Sourdough Simplified post. If you already have a starter but want to learn how to maintain it in a pint canning jar with no discarding or other faffing about (basically, just ignoring it!), see the directions below. Happy baking! 

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Sourdough Sandwich Loaf or Boule

(Makes one large loaf)

The Pre-Ferment

1/2 cup (4.5 ounces/128 grams) mature stirred-down 100% hydration starter
5.5 fluid ounces (163 grams or ml) room temperature water
1 dip-and-sweep cup (5 ounces/142 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 

The Dough

7 fluid ounces (207 grams or ml) room temperature water
1 1/2 teaspoons to 1 3/4 teaspoons (0.35 ounce/10 grams) salt (I use 1 1/2 teaspoons)
3 dip-and-sweep cups (15 ounces/425 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

Note: Before we get started, let me say one more thing. If you do not have a kitchen scale, get one. It is something else that will simplify your life. I've used one for decades, probably because I grew up with English cookery books, and switched to this digital one, OXO Good Grips 11-pound digital scale (pictured below), when I found it years ago.

1 For the pre-ferment: At 6:00 pm (or whatever your chosen time is), in 2-quart glass measure, stir together the starter and water, then flour. Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours. Replenish the starter.

Maintaining Starter: Unless you're baking bread every day or two, keep the starter in the refrigerator and feed only to replenish. I keep about 3/4 cup (6.75 ounces/192 grams) of starter in a pint canning jar. Though I won't be feeding the starter, after taking out 1/2 cup (4.5 ounces/128 grams) for the loaf, I need to replenish the starter in the jar and so feed it with 2.25 ounces (64 grams) each flour and water, stir it vigorously and let stand at room temperature for about 1 to 4 hours (you should see some bubbles, but not too many), then refrigerate until the next bake.

2 At 6:00 am (or 12 hours after your chosen start time), make the dough. Stir water and salt into the pre-ferment, then the flour. Cover loosely with lid or lightly oiled plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature about 6 hours, or until the dough has doubled. It all depends on variables like your starter and the temperature of your kitchen.

As the starter matures, the rise time shortens. At some point, the first rise might take only 5 hours and the second, less than 2 hours. If longer rise times better suit your schedule, you can reduce the amount of starter used in the dough.

  

3a For Sandwich Loaf: Grease the bread pan. I use a 9x4x4-inch (1.5-pound) pullman pan. It's about the same capacity as a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Using no more than 1/8 cup altogether, sprinkle countertop with some flour. Gently scrape the dough onto the floured countertop. Sprinkle with flour. Press gently into a roughly 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Using a bench scraper, fold one third of the rectangle toward the center, then fold the other end to the center, like a letter. With the bench scraper, place folded dough in the pan, pressing it into the corners. Brush on a little water. Cover it loosely with an oiled or cooking-sprayed piece of plastic wrap.

3b For Boule: Place a square of parchment paper on a rimless baking sheet (which will act as a "peel" later). Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of flour in a 9-inch circle in the center of the parchment and 2 tablespoons of flour on your work surface. Scrape the dough out onto the work surface. Put a little of the flour on top of the dough and with floured hands, press dough lightly into a 10-inch square. Fold it in thirds like a letter; then fold that rectangle into thirds, forming a square. Tuck the edges under, working the dough into a smooth round. Place the dough on the parchment. Turn a large glass bowl over it, or cover it loosely with an oiled or cooking-sprayed piece of plastic wrap.

4a Let rise until doubled. If using 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, it should rise an inch or two above the rim of the pan. If using the 9x4x4-inch pullman pan (minus its lid), the dough should rise to below or just even with the top of pan. This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. The dough needs to rise until the dough doesn't quickly spring back when poked with a floured finger or knuckle. 

4b The boule will spread as well as rise and not appear to rise very high. Not to worry! It will rise in the oven (called oven spring) and be a lovely, well-risen loaf. 

Tip: Check on the dough's progress regularly. After making it a few times, you'll have a better idea of how long it will take. And that will change as the weather changes.

5a Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. Just before baking, brush the loaf with a little water. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400F/205C/Gas6 and continue baking for about 30 minutes or until crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf registers 210F/99C on instant-read thermometer. Remove from pan immediately and let cool on wire rack for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before slicing.

5b When you’ve got about 30 to 45 minutes left, place oven rack in lower-middle position and place pizza stone or Lodge Pro-Logic 14-Inch Cast Iron Pizza Pan on rack. Preheat oven to 475F/245C/Gas9 for at least 30 minutes. With a sharp blade, cut a "+" about 1/4-inch deep on the top and slide the boule on its parchment square onto the hot stone. Reduce temperature to 425F/220C/Gas7. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F/99C. If it's getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. Remove from oven, using the rimless baking sheet or pizza peel to lift the boule off the pizza stone. Let cool on wire rack for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

PS For those who care about such things, this is a 69% hydration dough. 

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees at no cost to you by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites. This helps cover some of the costs of running the blog. Thank you for your support.

Jean

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Sourdough Simplified - A Tutorial

Sourdough bread is something I made once or twice a week for years, then got out of the habit of for about a year (yes, the same year, the pandemic year, masses of other people were taking it up for the first time!). 

Then I decided to make another starter and get back into it. This time I was going to simplify it even more than I already had and experiment with not feeding the starter other than when the starter was nearly gone and needed replenishing.

So I started my starter, as always with a view to wasting as little flour as possible in the discards that are part of the process of building a starter. Since I only plan to bake one loaf at a time, I only need to keep enough starter to make a loaf with a little left to replenish. 

So I decided to keep about 3/4 cup (6.75 ounces/192 grams) of the stirred-down starter in a pint canning jar and placed it in the refrigerator for the next baking day.

I use grams and a digital scale myself, but I've given the directions in ounces as well for those with analog scales and in cups and tablespoons for those who measure. 

The measures are not exact equivalents to the weights, so don't mix methods. For those interested in such things, this is a 100% hydration starter, meaning it has equal weights of flour (I use organic) and water.

And the idea (which I won't be able to report on for several months) is to be able to leave the starter, once it has matured for three months, in the refrigerator for two months or more without any attention and then take it out, stir it up, and use it as is (unfed) to make a loaf. Simplified! 

Update 04/19/21: I just left the starter in the refrigerator untouched for 3 weeks, and used it unfed like always, and it worked beautifully, just like when I was using it every week. In fact, the final rise, which was taking 3 hours, took just 2 hours.

Starting the Sourdough Starter

When starting a sourdough starter, the starter can pass one or both of the typical "tests" (doubling and floating) to determine whether the starter is ready to use but still not be ready to use, leading to a failed loaf, so I decided to give it 23 days to develop. It will continue to "mature" for 3 months. 

By making up your mind at the outset to let your starter develop over that time instead of getting in a hurry to bake a loaf, you won't risk wasting an entire batch of dough on a loaf that fails because the starter was not really ready despite indications to the contrary.

Using just minimal quantities of flour for the 23 days means the discarding will only amount to about two cups of flour. And not feeding the starter after that, simply adding more flour and water when replenishing the starter, means no discarding ever. Here's the simple plan, given in measures as well as ounces and grams:

Days 1 to 21 - In glass or ceramic 1-pint container, stir 2 level tablespoons unbleached flour and 1 1/2 tablespoons water (or 0.5 ounce/14 grams of each) until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a slightly ajar lid. Each day, stir vigorously and then discard all but 1 tablespoon (or 0.5 ounce/14 grams) of the starter and add 2 tablespoons unbleached flour and 1 1/2 tablespoons water (or 0.5 ounce/14 grams of each); stir vigorously until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or slightly ajar lid and let stand at room temperature.

Day 22 - Stir vigorously and then discard all but 2 tablespoons (or 1 ounce/28 grams) of the starter and add 1/4 cup unbleached flour and 3 tablespoons water (or 1 ounce/28 grams of each); stir vigorously until smooth. Cover loosely. 

Day 23 - Stir vigorously and then discard all but 1/4 cup (or 2.25 ounces/64 grams) of the starter add 1/2 cup unbleached flour and 1/3 cup water (or 2.25 ounces/64 grams of each); stir vigorously until smooth. Cover loosely. 

Day 24 - Use 1/2 cup (4.5 ounces/128 grams) for a loaf. Replenish the remaining 1/4 cup (or 2.25 ounces/64 grams) of the starter with 1/2 cup unbleached flour and 1/3 cup water (or 2.25 ounces/64 grams of each); stir vigorously until smooth. Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature for 1 to 4 hours (as soon as some bubbles are forming, then put it in the refrigerator until next week.

If you've had difficulty in the past with a young starter not performing well and don't want to chance it, you can use a small amount of instant yeast (1/2 teaspoon)—in your dough only, never in your starter—until your starter has matured.

Now let's bake a loaf! You can use the same recipe to make a round boule, but I most often make a sandwich loaf. For a round boule, follow the shaping directions for Sourdough Artisan Bread.

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Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

(Makes one large loaf)

1/2 cup (4.5 ounces/128 grams) stirred-down 100% hydration starter
1 5/8 cups (13 fluid ounces/384 ml or grams) room temperature water
1 3/4 teaspoons (0.35 ounce/10 grams) salt

4 dip-and-sweep cups (20 ounces/567 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour (I use organic)

1 Stir down the starter and weigh or measure it into 2-quart glass measure. With a dough whisk or a large dinner knife, stir in water, then salt and flour. The dough will be fairly stiff, but still sticky. With one hand, knead the dough right in the bowl, just enough to incorporate all the flour, maybe about 10 to 20 times in all. Cover loosely with lid or lightly oiled plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature about 12 to 24 hours. At any point that the dough has doubled, it's good to go. It all depends on variables like your starter and the temperature of your kitchen. As the starter matures, the rise time shortens.

At some point, the first rise might take only 5 hours and the second, 2 hours. If longer rise times better suit your schedule, you can reduce the amount of starter used in the dough.  

Maintaining Starter: Unless you're baking bread every day or two, keep the starter in the refrigerator and feed only when you don't have enough starter left to make another loaf. I keep about 3/4 cup (6.75 ounces/192 grams) of starter in a pint canning jar. Though I won't be feeding the starter, after taking out 1/2 cup (4.5 ounces/128 grams) for the loaf, I need to replenish the starter in the jar and so feed it with 2.25 ounces (64 grams) each flour and water, stir it vigorously and let stand at room temperature for about 1 to 4 hours (you should see some bubbles, but not too many), then refrigerate until the next bake.

2 Grease bread pan. I use a 9x4x4-inch (1.5-pound) pullman pan. It's about the same capacity as a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. 

3 Using no more than 1/8 cup altogether, sprinkle countertop with some flour. Gently scrape the dough onto the floured countertop. Sprinkle with flour. Press gently into a roughly 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Using a bench scraper, fold one third of the rectangle toward the center, then fold the other end to the center, like a letter. With the bench scraper, place folded dough in the pan, pressing it into the corners. Brush on a little water. Cover it loosely with an oiled or cooking-sprayed piece of plastic wrap. 

4 Let rise until doubled. If using 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, it should rise an inch or two above the rim of the pan. If using the 9x4x4-inch pullman pan, the dough should rise to below or just even with the top of pan. This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. The dough needs to rise until the dough doesn't quickly spring back when poked with a floured finger or knuckle.

Tip: Check on the dough's progress regularly. After making it a few times, you'll have a better idea of how long it will take. And that will change as the weather changes. I keep my house rather cool in winter, so sourdough bread takes much longer to rise now than it does in summer.

5 Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. Just before baking, brush the loaf with a little water. If you add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda to 2 tablespoons water and brush the loaf with it, it will aid in browning.

6 Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400F/205C/Gas6 and continue baking for about 30 minutes or until crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf registers 210F/99C on instant-read thermometer.

7 Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before slicing.

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites. We are a ThermoWorks affiliate, earning a small commission at no cost to you on purchases made through our links. This helps cover some of the costs of running the blog. Thank you for your support. 

Jean

Sourdough Sandwich Bread - Two Loaves

This sourdough sandwich bread is a classic wild yeast sourdough bread, meaning it is made without the addition of commercial yeast. While I love the gorgeous crusty round loaves of sourdough artisan bread baked free-form, for mornings we need a loaf that will make tidy slices that are a perfect fit for the toaster.

And this bread makes the best grilled sandwiches ever!

It takes longer to read about it than it takes to make it! Less than a minute for first starter feed, less than a minute for second starter feed, a couple minutes to stir up the dough, a couple minutes to shape the loaves. The rest of the time, it's doing *its* thing while you're doing *your* thing!

You could use 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, 23x13x7cm, but I use this equivalent 9x4x4-inch pullman loaf pan (without its lid). Until this month I had just one of them. But it was getting to be a bit much baking a single loaf every three days, so I got a second pan. Just freeze one loaf until the first is gone.

If you don't already have a sourdough starter, here's How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter. No need to buy a sourdough starter! It's really simple. All it takes is unbleached all-purpose flour (preferably organic), filtered or bottled water (not distilled or chlorinated tap) and lots of patience. But your patience will pay off.

You wind up with something that will last forever, yes, forever. And you'll never have to buy yeast again. (Actually, I still use yeast for other things, though you can use sourdough starter for everything.)

If you don't have a digital kitchen scale, do get one. It will greatly simplify your baking life, especially for bread, especially if you are new to bread baking and so don't yet have a "feel" for how much flour the dough needs. You are less likely to add too much flour to the dough when you weigh rather than measure. 

Don't forget to Pin it!

Sourdough Sandwich Bread 

(Makes two 2-pound loaves) 

The Fed Starter

4 tablespoons starter

2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 cups water (12 fluid ounces/355 ml), divided

The Dough

1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces/355 ml) water
1 tablespoon salt
6 dip-and-sweep cups (30 ounces/850 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 

Note: These directions have you giving the starter the first of two feedings the night before the day you plan to bake the loaves.

1 Feed up your starter to 3 cups: Take 4 tablespoons starter out of refrigerated storage container. Put it in a 4-cup glass measure. Stir in 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) water. Stir vigorously, put 2 tablespoons of it in your jar of stored starter, cover loosely and let stand at room temperature overnight, about 8 hours. Leave storage jar at room temperature as well. 

Note: My starter storage jar is just a half-pint canning jar, and it's not even full. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no need to keep huge quantities of starter.

2 In the morning (about 5:00 a.m. for me), stir down the starter and add 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) water. Stir vigorously, put 2 tablespoons of it in your jar of stored starter, cover loosely and let stand at room temperature until the starter is ready to use (in this case, 3 hours). This varies due to many factors, including the maturity of your starter; so give it the float test about every hour to see if it is ready to use. Leave storage jar at room temperature as well.

Float Test: Drop a teaspoon of starter into a glass of water. If it floats, the starter is ready to go. If it sinks, check again every hour. After a few times, you will see a pattern emerge and be able to plan your day accordingly.

3 Weigh your flour in a 2-quart bowl. Stir down fed starter and put all but about 2 tablespoons of it into a 4.5-quart mixing bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of starter to your storage jar, stir vigorously and refrigerate. With a dough whisk or large spoon, stir in water, salt and flour (holding back 1/2 cup of flour until the end, as it may not be needed if your measured flour wasn't precisely 30 ounces or the humidity level is different, etc). Stir until it just comes together into a shaggy dough (fairly stiff, but still sticky). With one hand, knead dough right in the bowl, just enough to incorporate all the flour and smooth it out.

4 Divide the dough into two equal portions (again, the digital kitchen scale comes in handy here), and place them in two lightly oiled bowls. I like one of them to be my Pyrex 2-quart glass measure so I can easily see when the dough has doubled. Cover both loosely with lids or oiled plastic wrap or lid and let stand at room temperature until dough has doubled (in this case, 7 hours). The time will vary; after a couple times you'll know about how long this might take and be able to schedule your day accordingly.

Note: Or you could let all the dough do its first rise in one bowl, then divide the dough when it's ready for shaping and second rise.

 
5 Grease (I use just a little olive oil, about 1/2 teaspoon each) the bread pans, either 9x4x4-inch pullman pans without their lids or 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.

6 Using no more than a tablespoon or two altogether for both, sprinkle countertop with some flour. Gently scrape the first batch of dough onto the floured countertop. Sprinkle with flour. Press each portion gently into a roughly 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Using a bench scraper, if needed, roll the dough into a loaf. With the bench scraper, place dough in the pan, pressing it into the corners. Brush on a little water. Cover it loosely with an oiled or cooking-sprayed piece of plastic wrap. 

7 Let rise until doubled. If using 9x5x3 loaf pans, it should rise an inch or two above the rim of the pans. If using 9x4x4 pullman pans, the dough should rise to just a little above the top of pans. This can take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. The dough needs to rise until the dough doesn't quickly spring back when poked with a floured finger or knuckle.

Today I felt like helping it along a bit after that long first rise in my cold kitchen, so I turned the oven to 200F/93C and left it on for 2 minutes, counting from the time the oven lit, then turned it off and placed the pans in the oven. 

Tip: Check on the dough's progress regularly. After making it a few times, you'll have a better idea of how long it will take. And that will change as the weather changes. I keep my house rather cool in winter, so sourdough bread takes much longer to rise now than it does in summer.

8 Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. Just before baking, brush the loaf with a little water.

9 Bake at 450F/230C/Gas8 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400F/205C/Gas6 and continue baking for about 30 minutes or until crust is beautifully golden and middle of a loaf registers 210F/99C on instant-read thermometer. 

Tip: For reasons I won't go into (something about lactobacilli and yeast and ...), sourdough bread sometimes doesn't brown as well as other breads until your starter matures.

10 Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks  for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before slicing.

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Sourdough Bread Tips

To me, all yeast doughs are "magical," but there's no real magic to sourdough. Just wild yeast and lactobacilli doing their thing in their own sweet time, it's more art than science on the baker's part. As they say, it isn't rocket surgery! 

I've received so many questions about sourdough that I thought it was time to write another post about it. Time to dispel the myths! Really, nearly everything I've ever read on the subject makes it seem way more complicated than it is. 

If you are an experienced sourdough bread baker, you might be having wonderful success with entirely different methods than mine. If so, just keep on doing what you're doing. But if you're new to sourdough bread (true sourdough bread made with a wild yeast starter and no added commercial yeast), this post might be just what you need.

First of all, here's How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter. And it doesn't require you to invest in a fancy crock or imported flour. You don't have to wait until grapes are in season or until you remember to pick up some distilled water.

Just do it!

You don't have to wait until you buy a digital kitchen scale (though it is a wonderful thing to have for many things). People sending me questions have quoted experts who give extremely precise directions for making a starter. 

Not necessary!

And you don't have to discard huge amounts of your starter. People sending me questions have pointed me to experts who would have them regularly discarding starter--both while they're starting the starter and when they're using the starter.

Not necessary!

Now then, after a week or two, you have a nice bubbly starter. How do you keep it going? Do you have to get a babysitter for it when you go on vacation?

Not necessary!

Since I like to bake sourdough bread twice a week, I could probably just leave my starter on the counter; but I keep it in the refrigerator. If I'm not baking bread for a while, I have had the habit of taking it out and feeding it once a week as mentioned in my How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter post. But guess what?

Not necessary!

Once every three weeks would be good, but we had an incredibly long spell of heat and humidity that killed my interest in anything to do with the oven. And I totally ignored my little half-pint jar of starter for months as it gradually migrated to a back corner of the refrigerator. When I finally revived myself and remembered the starter, I was sure it would be past reviving.

Not true!

Sure, it had separated into a couple layers and looked a little down on its luck, but I thought I should at least give it a try before I tossed it and started over. Hey, if I could be revived, anything could! I just took out a couple teaspoons of it and put it into a 2-cup glass measure and started feeding it. When I'm baking regularly, it just takes two feedings; but I fed this next-to-dead starter twice a day for a few days (small amounts, with NO discarding) until it was bubbly.

It was just fine!

So I put 2 tablespoons of the revived starter into a half-pint jar to store in the refrigerator, and I put the rest in a 2-cup glass measure to feed it up as directed in the Sourdough Artisan Bread post. (I most often make the Sourdough Sandwich Bread because Mr. Delightful finds it fits the toaster better.) 

I should also mention that the two sample schedules in that post are just samples. You don't have to be that structured. Most days, I do first feeding in the morning, second feeding in the evening, stir up the dough in the morning, let it rise until doubled (which can vary, but right now is about 6 hours), then shape the loaf, left it rise until doubled (which can vary, but right now is about 3 hours) and bake.

You'll find your own rhythm! 

So I guess the moral of the story is: Just do it! Sourdough seems to have a mystique about it that some might enjoy but that holds people back from giving it a try.

Don't be discouraged if your first bakes aren't completely successful. It takes a while to know your starter and your dough.

Just do it! And let me know if you have any questions.

PS Here's my recipe for Sourdough English Muffins.