10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Quit Sourdough

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For any beginner sourdough baker who’s feeling overwhelmed and wants to quit sourdough — this one’s for you.

Learning sourdough is exciting… until it suddenly feels like too much.

Your starter looks strange and not behaving like you thought it would. The dough feels too sticky to handle. Your loaf comes out flat or gummy. You forget to feed your starter. You bake once a week.. then once a month. And before long, sourdough feels like one more thing you can’t keep up with.

But if you’re reading this, it means you haven’t fully given up — and that’s a good sign.

Here’s why you shouldn’t quit sourdough, even when it feels confusing, overwhelming, or just downright discouraging.

1. Sourdough Is a Skill

Skills take time to learn, and the process of learning a craft is incredibly valuable—yet increasingly rare these days. Handmade skills aren’t appreciated the way they once were. Someone (or something) can make it faster, prettier, and more efficiently… so why bother?

Because with time and intention, you can do it just as well. You can create something you’re proud to share. And how often do we get to experience that these days?

2. Your Starter Is More Forgiving Than You Think

Your starter is like a good friend. Once the relationship is established and you begin to understand each other, it becomes surprisingly forgiving.

Life happens. You might:

• forget to feed it
• let it get too cold or too warm
• watch it overflow
• leave it in the fridge for weeks
• get fruit flies in it
• accidentally break its jar
• go on vacation and abandon it entirely

And still, a strong starter will survive. You can apologize, rebuild the relationship, feed it when it’s hungry, keep it warm, and it will return to full strength—often with even more understanding between the two of you.

3. You Don’t Have to Bake Constantly

You don’t need to bake sourdough every day or feed your starter constantly to keep it healthy. Many people think that and then they’re more overwhelmed with sourdough “discard” than they are rewarded with fresh sourdough bread.

It doesn’t have to be that way.
While I recommend consistent feedings for the first few weeks to establish a strong starter and relationship, it doesn’t need that level of attention forever. Once it’s mature, you can store it in the fridge and use it when you want.

I bake 1–3 times a week depending on demand. Otherwise, the leftover starter simply waits in the fridge until I’m ready to mix again. I rarely have discard—usually I create extra if I want to make a discard recipe.

4. Sourdough Is Better for Digestion and Health

Sourdough—especially whole wheat sourdough—is far easier on the gut than quick, yeasted bread.

Long fermentation:

• pre-digests gluten and starches
• reduces gut-irritating compounds
• breaks down phytic acid (allowing better mineral absorption)
• releases vitamins and minerals from whole grains
• stabilizes blood sugar

Store-bought yeasted bread skips these steps entirely.

I genuinely believe homemade bread of any kind is better than store-bought (even just for avoiding preservatives and dough conditioners), but you can always make it more nourishing. Long-fermented sourdough with as much freshly milled whole grain as you enjoy is the crème de la crème.

I personally find all-white-flour bread lacking—little nutrition, little fibre, and, in my opinion, little flavour. But you do you.

5. It’s Real-Life Alchemy

How incredible is it that three simple ingredients—flour, water, and salt—transform into something beautiful, nourishing, and valuable?

It still amazes me.
You don’t need commercial yeast, eggs, butter, or sugar.

With only the basics, you can create a food that sustains life, even in times of scarcity. That’s alchemy.

6. You’re Joining an Ancient Tradition

Sourdough has been used for thousands of years. It’s one of the oldest forms of food preservation and breadmaking.

It connects you to a slower culture of food—how people survived and thrived long before convenience and speed ruled our kitchens. Today, we live in a fast-paced, perfection-driven world. Sourdough is the opposite: slow, ever-changing, demands care and attention, and rooted in perseverance, not perfection.

7. Difficult Things Make You Stronger

Sourdough builds patience, resilience, and problem-solving skills. Imperfect loaves aren’t failures—they’re stepping stones.

We rarely stick with difficult things these days, and I think that hurts us. Sourdough forces you to practice resilience. It humbles you when you need it. It teaches you to get up and try again.

8. You Will Keep Improving Forever

There is no end to improvement with sourdough.

You can keep learning about:

• new grains
• techniques
• hydration levels
• shaping
• fermentation
• milling

Once you gain confidence, you start experimenting—and every experiment grows your skills. Every loaf is an opportunity to practice, learn, improve, and create something new.

9. You’re Not Failing — You’re Becoming a Baker

A flat, gummy, over-proofed, under-proofed, or pale loaf doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It means you’re baking.

No one becomes great at sourdough overnight. The beautiful ear, the open crumb, the perfect rise—these take time. But every imperfect loaf teaches you something about sourdough and being a baker.

10. Sourdough Connects You With People

Bread is meant to be shared. It always has been.

• Sharing a loaf is an act of generosity.
• Disaster loaves bring laughter.
• Supplying weekly bread to a neighbor can bring in a little extra income.
• A warm loaf makes the perfect gift for a new mom, a sick friend, a birthday, a holiday dinner, or any special moment.

Fresh bread warms the heart. It bonds people.
The root of the word companion literally means “one who breaks bread with another.”

Breaking bread is a timeless expression of connection, camaraderie, and care.

And If You Still Want to Quit Sourdough, That’s Okay Too

If sourdough truly isn’t for you right now — or ever — that’s completely okay.

You can:

• switch to yeasted bread (still delicious, still homemade)
• mill your own flour
• support your local bakery
• buy from a home baker

There is no shame in choosing the path that fits your life.
Real sourdough takes time, energy, and heart — and you are allowed to decide where yours is best spent.

But if something inside you still wants to keep learning… keep going.
You’re closer than you think.

Consider joining our private Facebook page where you can find help on your sourdough journey!

Or, grab my eBook on How To Make Sourdough: An Easy-to-Follow Guide From Starter to Slice!

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