Hi, I’m Sam — and I’m a little obsessed with sourdough.
If you’ve ever stood in your kitchen at midnight, checking on a loaf like it’s a sleeping baby, you already understand me pretty well. I’m Sam Whitaker, and I’ve been baking sourdough bread for over a decade — the kind of baking that starts as a weekend experiment and slowly takes over your entire kitchen counter, refrigerator shelf, and honestly, your personality.
Meet Harold
The heart of everything I do here is a four-year-old sourdough starter named Harold. I mixed him up during a quiet stretch at home, not expecting much — and now I genuinely can’t imagine baking without him. Harold has survived moves, temperature swings, and more than a few moments of neglect. He’s resilient, a little unpredictable, and the reason every loaf I bake has a story behind it.
Why I Started Sourdough Rising
When I first got into sourdough, the information online was overwhelming. Some of it was overly technical, buried in baker’s percentages and hydration ratios that made my head spin. Other advice was too vague to actually be useful. I spent a lot of time making dense bricks and flat loaves before things finally started to click.
I built Sourdough Rising because I wanted a place that bridges that gap — where a complete beginner can learn to keep a starter alive, and where a more experienced home baker can find recipes and techniques worth digging into. I’m based in the Pacific Northwest, where the cool, damp air makes fermentation its own adventure, and I bake out of a home kitchen just like yours. No commercial ovens, no professional training — just real bread, made at home, tested over and over until it works.
What You’ll Find Here
Sourdough Rising covers everything from feeding and maintaining your starter, to shaping and scoring techniques, to recipes that go well beyond the basic country loaf. Expect detailed guides, troubleshooting help when your bread isn’t behaving, and honest breakdowns of the tools and equipment that are actually worth your money. I also share the occasional failure — because understanding why something went wrong is just as valuable as knowing what to do right.
My Approach
Everything I publish here comes from real, hands-on experience. I don’t recommend a technique unless I’ve used it myself, and I don’t recommend a product unless I’ve either tested it in my own kitchen or researched it thoroughly enough to stake my name on it. I have no interest in telling you what you want to hear if it means steering you toward a loaf that won’t deliver. You deserve honest, practical guidance — and that’s what I’m here to give you.
When I’m not baking, I’m usually hiking local trails, reading about fermentation science, or attempting to convince my friends that yes, sourdough pancakes are absolutely worth the extra steps. I’m so glad you’re here, and I hope something on this site helps you bake the bread you’ve been chasing.
Happy baking,
Sam
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