Read this before you open the packet.
Start a starter
Everything for the first three days: what’s in the packet, the hour-by-hour revival, what “bubbly enough” looks like, and what to do when it isn’t.
Feed it
Ratios, flour choices, the daily and weekly rhythms, and the peak-to-peak timing that makes a strong starter. Plus what to do about hooch.
Bake a loaf
From the everyday country loaf to bagels, pizza dough and cinnamon rolls. Bulk fermentation, proofing and the cold retard, explained by people who’ve overproofed plenty.
Discard recipes
Pancakes, waffles, crackers, pretzels, tortillas. Nothing from the jar goes in the bin.
Troubleshooting
Not rising, smells wrong, gummy crumb, thick crust, sticky dough. Find your symptom, fix it tonight.