Think of sourdough starter as a natural leavener, and in many cases, a way to cultivate the wild yeast that exists naturally in flour and in the air, and convert it to something that you can use to make bread (or whatever else) rise.
Think of sourdough starter as a natural leavener, and in many cases, a way to cultivate the wild yeast that exists naturally in flour and in the air, and convert it to something that you can use to make bread (or whatever else) rise. Commercial yeast is more consistent, both in terms of results and flavor, but you can think about wild yeast versus the commercial variety as something like the difference between an heirloom tomato and the supermarket kind. What you sacrifice in consistency, you often gain in flavor. Plus, it's kind of a weird, cool hobby to wrangle the wild, wild yeasts of your home, like an extremely un-intimidating bounty hunter. But, again, you can also use store-bought yeast to make a starter if you want! It'll work just as well.