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At a camp trip earlier this month, a friend gifted me with a jar of his Sourdough starter. I don't have a lot of experience with Sourdough bread, but wanted to work with some.
I baked a basic loaf today, and it came out prett good. I could have added more salt, but other than that, the flavor is good, the crust is great, and it has a nice, pourous crumb.
I am going to 'grow' more of the starter, and make another loaf soon.

That looks great!

Do you like the taste of sourdough?

Sam, put me down for some of that starter, will ya? I love sourdough. Can't eat too much of it or I'll turn into the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Spent a couple weeks in Cal a few years ago. I swear I gained 5 lbs just from all the sourdough bread I was eating.

One of the few things I think Kalifornia does well.

If you have splits of the culture to get rid of, I'd love one.

My friend that gave me the starter, tells me that the yeast strain does not stay true. I have been reading up on this, and evidently, the starter that you are given, does not stay the same, but changes to reflect the natural yeast that is in your house.
That's why you can't get San Francisco Sourdough starter, and make that 'flavor' of bread when you get home.
Making starter from scratch is probably as good a method as any. Someone saying that they are using a starter that is generations old is probably not really accurate.
I am going to have to work on the efficacy of my starter, before my Sourdough bread improves a lot. The feeding, discarding, feeding, temperature control, time control etc.

Had sourdough waffles at my mom and step dads Thursday morning. It's a usual breakfast for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Give it a try with fresh fruits, jams, and crème fresh.

Sam, I have been reading as well. Have you tried drying your starter on parchment paper into a potato chip like like consistancy and then storing in jars ?Airtight of course.

that tip was in Advanced Sourdough, I am just starting out. lol

Would you like a link to that process ?

I've stored spares of my sourdough in the past by drying, filling a baby food jar, and freezing both.

It's been a while, but I don't recall why/how my starters got lost. I guess I'll have to start from the beginning.

Another method I want to try is to put the flour/water outside on a dry breezy day covered with cheese cloth to catch wild yeast.

Sean, breakfast is where I got started on the stuff. Little town outside San Fran called Pacifica. After watching guys wadefishing for stripers in frigid water, went to the local Mom & Pop breakfast joint. Had some sourdough toast with butter and strawberry jam along with my eggs and bacon, encouraged by GF who already had experienced the goodness. Next morning, it was sourdough pancakes. Then, the addiction continued from there.

Bought some sourdough bread at Trader Joe's a while back. No comparison.

I'm not 100% committed to doing all that has to be done, to maintain a viable starter. It's a novelty for me right now. I will most likely plug away at it until I have it nailed, and then move on to something else.