I've been baking my own sourdough the last few months. I'm on my fourth starter - I created three myself (Roger, Nigel and George) but they all died on me and the loaves I baked with Roger failed to rise and were so dense I could have broken a shop window with them.

Then a friend gave me a starter and I've been on a roll since (no pun intended). He also gave me lots of advice on how to treat Marshy, like not using metal near it (so I use a plastic/wooden spoons to feed and stir him).

I bake a single loaf once a week - it's plenty for me - using half rye and half strong bread flour and using a regular loaf tin. I find sourdough much kinder on my digestion. Ordinary bread leaves me looking so bloated but not sourdough. Cost-wise, a loaf is probably less than £1, excluding heating the oven.

I have a lot of bookmarked links on sourdough and starters - happy to post on request.