I think I should change my blog name to In search of the perfect sourdough bread recipe

So, this all started when I got some 20 year old sourdough starter from my co-worker/friend Marie.  I have been feeding that baby every week for about a year now.  I call it my little pet.  In case you are wondering, sourdough starter is basically water and flour that you have let sour (or ferment) with the yeast that is in the air.  It looks a little bit like pancake batter and you feed it with flour and water each week to keep it alive.  Yes, it is alive!  The older a starter is, the more flavor it gets.  Some sourdough starters are over 100 years old (think San Francisco)!!!  Alas, despite my love and care, I just can't seem to make sourdough bread.  It never comes out sourdoughy enough for me.
Now, I can make bread.  I love making bread.  Any other bread I make comes out delicious and complex with a complex taste and wonderful texture.  Well, today's attempt came out with a wonderful texture but the blandest taste that I have ever tasted in homemade bread.  I thought that observing the sourdough bread master (Marie's husband, Mark), I would finally get it right.  No luck.  I jokingly called today's dough the sourdough monster as it kept growing and bubbling and getting everywhere!  I had to call my wonderful fiance down to help at one point as I was covered with sticky sourdough and couldn't get the dough to do anything!  It stuck to the board, stuck to my hands, went on the floor, counter, stove, etc.! Even when I finally (finally!) put it in the oven, it refused to cook through.  It was so massive and giant that it still came out doughy when I took it out the first time.  All this was (as I mentioned in my previous blog) going on while I was trying to make chicken stock.  When it did finally bake through, it just tasted bland.  The crust and texture was great but it tasted of nothing but flour and water!  And not very delicious flour and water!  Ah well...

My sourdough monster



I may look delicious, but I taste bland...

 p.s. I am not even going to include a recipe in this blog, as there is no point!