September 18, 2026

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Sourdough: How Hard Could This Be?

One 150-year-old starter, four loaves, a few failures, and our trip down the sourdough rabbit hole.

🍞 Here’s Where It All Starts! I love a good kitchen experiment. I’m not talking about some crazy molecular gastronomy stuff that Nathan Myhrvold, Wylie Dufresne, and Grant Achatz were/are into. I’m talking about a good old-fashioned regular experiment that real people can relate to.

🔬 This is “My” experiment.

Yes, that is a sourdough starter packet. And before you start screaming out, “That’s SO 2020. Everyone was doing that during COVID!” Just know that I was far too busy trying not to be dead to worry about my starter staying alive! 🙃

🧑‍🍳 I’m Not Really a Baker. I know my way around the kitchen, but baking has never been my thing. There’s something about the preciseness of it all. I usually leave that kind of stuff to folks whose personality is better suited for it. 😃

Don’t get me wrong, I can zoom in on the details as well as anyone when necessary. It’s just that leveling flour with a knife has never had that much appeal to me. Baking is an art, for sure. Just not my art.

I never really had a true appreciation for just how deep the sourdough rabbit hole is. I mean, when you’re in it, it’s nearly impossible to see daylight. Just so much info to sort through and process!

After burning half a day on what seemed like necessary starter research, I settled on a starter from Kensington Sourdough. It’s advertised as a 150-year-old San Francisco “Gold Rush” starter! One hundred and fifty years old! WOW.

I wasn’t even 100% sure if I should be trusted with something that was a century and a half old. But if they were willing to sell it to me, then who am I to quibble?

This is what it looks like when you follow the instructions (of which there are A LOT) and mix it up.

Looks fairly innocent, really. But as anyone who’s done this knows, innocence fades, and what you’re left with is this super needy, sour-smelling “thing” that requires pretty constant attention. 😀

It grows fast!

People have told me that you’re supposed to name this growing jar of goo. We (the baker and I) decided on Baby Dough.

📝 We regularly call it other things. But I’m really not all that interested in offending at least half of my audience! 😯

We kept ours in the oven. It was a little warmer than the house, which is super AC’d since it’s been blisteringly hot outside. Ben, the owner of Kensington (and I guess this starter’s “father”?) made the suggestion for storing your baby in the oven. ⬇️

I laughed when I read his one “oven storing” tip. But I will tell you, that little sign saved our “baby’s” life on more than one occasion! 😁

After your baby reaches adolescence, it’s time to bake! Again, I am not the baker here!

You’re going to need equipment.

There are a lot of steps. This really isn’t a recipe piece, so I won’t bore you with the details. (We’ll give you some recipe links at the bottom of the article.)

Let’s just say there is mixing, some folding, a little kneading, a lot of waiting, and, of course, finally, baking.

Here’s what our first little bundle of dough looked like before it went into the oven.

It looks great, right?! Well, let’s just say there is WAY more to this sourdough baking thing than just a 150-year-old starter. That beautiful roundish would-be loaf above failed! As did the next one! 😢

But bread attempt number three was a big leap forward!

This one was edible. And it made a great Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

It wasn’t until loaf number four that we hit the jackpot with our Gold Rush-era starter.

This was the bread I was hoping for when I first mixed the starter granules, water, and flour together!

When you constantly feed this thing, you have to discard a certain amount each time you do it. Don’t toss that extra starter! (We did at first.) But then…

Homemade Cheez-Its!

How about a Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Dill Quiche with a Sourdough Crust! – HERE’S ANNA’S RECIPE FOR THAT!

Sourdough, yes, you can do it! But if you don’t want to take the time and effort, there are a bunch of local pro bakers who will happily do the work for you.

Bread Bandits,  3546 S Osprey Ave. | 941-413-5112 – They have all sorts of freshly baked breads. I mean, “bread” is in their name!

Mama G’s German Bakery, 6568 Superior Ave. | 941-926-2692 – They bake a fantastic Rustic Sourdough!

The Bakero, 1900 Main St. | 941-404-5565 – “Traditional sourdough. Made with time, not yeast.” European-style bakery located downtown.

OK – So, now you can make it yourself. Just order a starter from Ben at Kensington. (No, this isn’t an advertorial. We don’t make any money if you buy some. He just sells a good, reliable starter.)

OR – You can let one of our super-talented local Sarasota bake shops do all the work for you!

Either way, YES, you can have your sourdough and eat it too!

~ LH

📝 END NOTES –

(a) We promised you a few recipe links. Here they are:

Beginner’s Sourdough Bread – The Perfect Loaf

Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide – The Clever Carrot

Rustic Sourdough Bread – King Arthur Baking Co.

(b) Making the starter wasn’t terribly hard. Trying to keep up with it can be a challenge. If you know people who would like a starter but don’t want to go to the trouble of doing it themselves, give them some of your starter and let them “have at it.” Saves them the time and effort of getting it going.

(c) I have extra starter (always!). It’s just “resting” in my fridge. I would love to share it and see what YOU can make with it. Send us a message (MESSAGE HERE), and we’ll see if we can find a way to get it to you. It might have to be a clandestine parking lot handoff. 🤫

1️⃣ One Last Thing. Indigenous Restaurant has closed its doors after 15 years of serving delicious dishes out of that little Towles Court kitchen. They spread the word about the sustainable seafood movement across Sarasota and far beyond. Chef Steve Phelps and his staff will leave behind a legacy of cutting-edge cuisine and impeccable service. The closing leaves a big hole in the Sarasota restaurant community. Good luck, Chef, on whatever your next adventure might be! 🧑‍🍳

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