Making bread at home matters to me because it gives me a large and creative variety of food that I can eat myself and make for others. I ate only meat and animal products for more than two years because they caused me the fewest symptoms. Bread is so demonized in our culture that most people are weary of it, and many like me experience legitimate reactions to eating it. I think too many people are told they are gluten intolerant and that they must give up wheat bread. Even doctors aren't aware of the benefits of fresh-milled flour or authentic sourdough, so they just tell people to cut bread out of their diets. Since I've learned that I not only tolerate fresh-milled flour but even feel better on it, as do many others, I've wanted to tell everyone about it and to offer it to anyone who will eat it. I make and give it out freely almost every week, and people frequently tell me how good they feel after eating my bread, cookies, muffins, or pizza, not bloated, heavy, or tired. I didn't want to add sourdough to the mix because I'm only about six months in with learning about how to bake with fresh-milled flour, but people kept asking about it, so I finally gave in to finding out what sourdough is all about. We are all missing out on the healing nutrients that real whole grains and sourdough provide, yet are missing absent from the bread-like products sold in the store. Too many of us are suffering the loss. When you know of something that may help people, and that provides feelings of wellness and joy, you want to share. I love and share in people's eagerness and happiness to freely eat fresh-baked bread.

@Terri Rosett I can't post links. The first bread I made was the Simple Yeast Bread from Grains and Grit. It's a favorite. I've made it many times in multiple forms, such as dinner rolls and hamburger buns. I also repeatedly make the 1-hour Sandwich Loaf by Robyn on the Farm. I'm now looking for that favorite soft sourdough loaf to go with them!

@Sandra Brenes I may not be able to get to it today but I will try to remember tomorrow.

@Sandra Brenes These were hard red in the dough because I am out of hard white. The discard had hard red and soft white and whatever I had to feed it on any given day.

@Sandra Brenes An update on the hoagies. The dough never rose much from what you see in the bowl. I had it on the counter for more than six hours after the stretch and folds. I left it in the fridge all night. I haven't had a chance yet to do anything with it today. My first loaf rose above the bowl but this one is doing almost nothing, even though my starter was at peak. I combined a fresh milled recipe with a sourdough recipe in attempt to make one that would work for me. I forgot to add a bit of yeast. I will look at your recipes for my next attempt!

@Karen Marcy I heard someone say today (in a podcast episode on sourdough) that once you get a starter going, the bacteria become a part of your kitchen. So subsequent starters are easier. Perhaps some of your starter #1 lives on in #2. They also said that if you buy a starter or are given one, someone tested theirs, and any trace of the bacteria from the original source was gone within days. So the idea of old or ancient starters containing parts of history may not be true. Like the cells of our bodies renew themselves every seven years, the living bacteria in a starter also renews itself. I don't know if these things are true, but they're interesting to think about.

@Terri Rosett I finished the first loaf class and joined the membership! 🎉🥖

@Sandra Brenes Where can I find your recipes? I'm looking for egg-free hoagies. Can I just leave out the egg if a recipe calls for one?