Seriously Old-Fashioned Sourdough Bread with a Crisp Crust

Sourdough starter is a living culture of lactic acid bacteria that are growing in a medium of flour and water. Theoretically, such a starter can be kept going indefinitely provided it is looked after properly. One of us (Klavs) currently has a starter that is eight years old. The dough is called Valdemar and it can be used as a leavening agent for baking bread.

Some people might think that it is completely crazy to call one’s starter by name. But it is not really—one tends to look a