It's common when learning something new and expansive to have a lot o questions along the way. This is the how and why section to help make sense of all the seemingly complex details of bread making. Rest assured you will stretch and grow just as does your bread dough, and before you know it, you will know all you knead to know. Please note that the information you find here is generally true for all bread, sourdough or otherwise, and for all starters that are more liquid than solid in nature, not just the recipes you find on this site.
“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in it's evocation of innocence and delight.”