Two years late, please explain sourdough to me like I’m a child

[Anonymous]

I really want to make sourdough bread from my own starter. I tried to make it once and it didn’t work out. Honestly I don’t understand the process either. I am a good baker and cook but the vague directions that are all different for sourdough are confusing to me. Can someone explain this to me like I’m seven?

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the wonderful world of sourdough! Never too late to start.
I'm not going to try to explain it to you, I'm sure others will do a much better job at it. But I'll tell you this: it took me a while to wrap my head around it too. Give yourself some time to understand and practice it.

My tips:
Don't try to start your own starter if you are a beginner. Get it from a neighbor or friend or buy it online (etsy or King Arthur Flour are good options). I got mine through Nextdoor.

Watch YouTube videos on the topic.

Read the King Arthur Flour page on Sourdough.

I'll keep an eye on this thread and will add to it later on.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I agree you should buy the starter. But, you have to feed it flour and use the excess starter, so managing it takes both time and trial and error.

[Anonymous]

Pro Home Cooks has multiple videos on making sourdough breads, and he really speaks to the home cooks and the common mistakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJEHsvW2J6M

[Anonymous]

It generally takes 5 tries to make a difficult recipe.