Reflections from my baking journey & my favorite sourdough discard recipes
Two years ago, I started my first sourdough starter without really knowing what I was doing. Since then, baking bread has become a slow, enjoyable ritual – a way to step away from the noise of everyday life and enjoy the simple act of creating something by hand. Looking back, it’s amazing to see how much I’ve learned, not just about sourdough, but about patience, persistence, and appreciating the small moments along the way.
July 2023
To figure out when I truly began, I had to scroll back through old photos. The first one I found was from July 16, 2023. Like many people, I became interested in sourdough through social media and decided to create my own starter from scratch with just flour and water. After feeding it for a couple of weeks, I believed that it was ready and made my first loaf. It wasn’t a complete failure, but it definitely didn’t rise well and came out dense. Looking back, I don’t think my starter was strong enough. My house is usually on the cooler side, which made the conditions less than ideal for both the starter and the dough.
July 2024
That first attempt discouraged me a bit, and I didn’t find any more sourdough photos for almost a year. When I decided to try again in July 2024, I was doing more research and ended up purchasing a starter instead of making one from scratch. I actually found one on Amazon and it’s worked incredibly well for me! (109 Year Old San Francisco Sourdough Starter Culture)
I was proud of the first loaf I baked with it, but I’m pretty sure I got a bit lucky because I couldn’t consistently recreate it afterward.
January 2025
The next set of photos I found was from January of the following year. I still wasn’t baking regularly and had gone months without making a loaf. I was keeping the starter alive, but I wasn’t using it for much else. When I finally tried again that January, the results were discouraging—another loaf with an uneven crumb. I’ve learned that even if the crumb isn’t perfect, the bread can still be very enjoyable.
March 2025 – Current
This brings me to March of 2025. Feeling like I needed more clarity, I purchased The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo. If I’m being honest, I haven’t read it cover to cover, but I’ve learned so much from it already. The most helpful part was the basic sourdough recipe. When you’re first starting out, all the different ratios, flours, temperatures, and techniques can be overwhelming. His simple, reliable instructions gave me a solid foundation to build on.
Once I felt confident with that base recipe, I started experimenting with inclusions. One of my favorites is pictured below Рa jalape̱o and cheddar loaf.
The last photos I found were from October of 2025. I now bake sourdough consistently every couple of weeks, and I always seem to run out. I’m still using the basic recipe from the book. Simple works best for me, and it makes the perfect loaf for my taste.
As I continue learning, I plan to try more inclusions and start experimenting with different flour blends.
I also love making recipes that use sourdough starter in other ways. Here are a few I’ve made over time, along with the links:
- Sourdough Discard Scones with White Chocolate + Cranberry
- Raspberry Cheesecake Sourdough Focaccia
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Sourdough Discard Biscuits
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Rolls with Sausage Gravy – Using the cinnamon roll recipe, I replaced the cinnamon sugar filling and icing with the ingredients from this recipe. This turns something sweet into a savory breakfast, and is one of my favorite things to make.
In my next post, I’ll share the tips and tricks I’ve learned over these past two years, along with the tools I rely on every time I bake.
If you take anything away from this, let it be that sourdough is a journey. Most people don’t get the perfect loaf on their first try—and sometimes you need a few months of stepping back, researching, and finding your motivation again. The process is all part of the experience.