Can an Engineer Make His Own Bread?
I treated a sourdough starter like a systems problem: logged variables, controlled temperature, and found out which of the internet's rules actually matter.
I don't have a baking background. I have a spreadsheet background. So when I decided to learn sourdough, I did the only thing I know how to do: turn it into a system with inputs, outputs, and a change log.
The internet gives you a hundred rules about hydration percentages, autolyse windows, and stretch-and-fold cadences. Most of them are repeated, few of them are tested. I spent three weeks changing one variable at a time (same flour, same water, same kitchen) to find out which rules survive contact with a real counter.
Short version: temperature dominates everything. Hydration matters less than every guide implies, timing matters more, and the starter is far more forgiving than the folklore suggests. The full variable log, and the loaf that finally came out right, are in the video.
This is the part of trying things that I actually love: the moment a craft stops being magic and starts being a system you can reason about. Next up in the kitchen is pizza, because pizza is just bread with better marketing.