Topics
Deep dives, explainers, opinions
Long reads on the questions we hear most often. Pain points, definitions, where the field is heading.
What 'rise %' actually tells you about your starter
Rise % in plain language, plus what 100%, 200% and 'never doubles' each mean.
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Why journaling sourdough beats memory + intuition
Why a journal is the single highest-leverage upgrade to your sourdough practice.
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Bake around your starter, not the other way round
Why scheduling bakes against the recipe instead of your starter is the most common mistake.
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"I Think I Killed My Sourdough Starter" - What's Actually Happening and What to Do
Why your starter is almost certainly just hungry - and exactly how to fix it.
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Why Your Sourdough Starter Smells Like Acetone, Vinegar, or Gym Socks (And Whether to Panic)
Every sourdough starter smell decoded - from pleasantly tangy to genuinely alarming.
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What Is Sourdough Starter Discard - And Should You Be Tracking It?
What discard is, why you have to do it, and what to do with it instead of throwing it out.
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What Is Sourdough Starter Hooch? (It's Not What You Think)
Hooch explained: what it is, what it means, and exactly what to do with it.
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7 Signs Your Sourdough Starter Is Ready to Bake - Don't Miss #4
Seven reliable signs your starter is at peak - ranked by how much they actually matter.
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Stiff vs liquid sourdough starter: which one should you keep?
How hydration changes flavour, timing and how forgiving the starter is.
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Why your sourdough comes out dense or gummy (and how to fix each one)
Dense and gummy have opposite causes; here's how to tell which you have.
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How to name your sourdough starter (200+ ideas)
Why bakers name their starter, a naming formula, and 200+ sorted ideas.
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Cold kitchen? How temperature silently slows your sourdough starter (and how to fix it)
Temperature is the #1 reason a starter looks dead. Here is what each degree does, and how to fix a cold kitchen.
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What your sourdough starter smells like at every stage of a feed (and what each means)
The normal smell arc from fresh feed to hungry, hour by hour, so you can read your starter by nose.
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Weekend baker: how to keep a sourdough starter alive when you only bake once a week
A low-effort weekly rhythm for once-a-week bakers: fridge dormancy plus a simple Friday wake-up.
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What's really in bread: the '300 additives' myth, fact-checked
The additives scare, calmly fact-checked - and why bread you bake yourself has nothing to hide.
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The biggest bakery trends for 2026: sourdough, texture and protein
Sourdough is the most-talked-about bakery trend going into 2026, alongside texture mash-ups and protein. What the data says - and what it means if you bake at home.
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Is sourdough bread actually healthy?
Digestion, gut health, blood sugar and diabetes, white vs wholegrain, and the catch most people miss.
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Sourdough vs yeast: what's the difference?
Commercial yeast vs sourdough, side by side: when to use which, and whether you can use both.
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How to make bread without commercial yeast
No yeast in the cupboard? Sourdough is the real answer; baking-powder breads are the fast stand-in. How each works.
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Is making your own sourdough worth it (and is it hard)?
Time, difficulty, cost and payoff - weighed honestly. Spoiler: easier than its reputation, and the hard part has a fix.
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A short history of bread baking (and why sourdough is the original)
From ancient Egypt and Oetzi to German Brotkultur and the modern revival - the long story of sourdough.
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