Every recipe, experiment, and deep dive — organized and searchable. Real techniques, real measurements, real results.
Starter, liquid starter, mother starter, levain, build, firm, stiff, lievito madre — what each word actually means, and why blurring them makes every later answer about feeding, pH, and fermentation drift.
'Just use bread flour' stops the conversation too early. Flour is not a label decision but a dough behavior decision — protein, W, hydration, and process matter more than the word on the bag.
Most sourdough advice treats it like a formula to copy — the right ratio, the right flour, the right schedule. It is not. It is a living system, and this first piece is about putting the frame in the right place.