Local sourdough rocks
Start with your own yeast, to make sourdough that's unlike any other...

S. John Ross makes it crystal clear.

Notes after getting far enough along to create a decent loaf of "local sourdough":
1. OMFG it works :)


BOOTSTRAPPING THE STARTER
Takes longer than you might think (mine took about a week to really get going). Don't dump out and replace half of it every day, as Ross suggests. Do feed it some sugar (I like to use honey). Warmth helped a lot. Mine really got going when I heated the oven just for 60 seconds then turned it off and put the covered bowl of starter in ("covered bowl = pyrex 2 cup glass container w/ plastic wrap over 80% of the top)... did this repeatedly any time I was passing by and noticing it had cooled and it'd been a couple of hours since the last visit (REMOVE starter, heat oven, put starter back in oven - if oven floor/rack is hot, place starter on something cool so you don't cook it!). Do add some more flour, or warm water, and give it a big stir, if it seems to be slowing down. Only add sugar when adding flour and water. Do not worry about lumps - the yeasts will take care of those. If you don't get enough "lift" from your first attempt, don't throw it away... put in some more flour, water and sugar and keep at it. Increase the warmth (I think about 80-100 degrees might be the best range and most houses aren't that temp so you need to help it along), don't make it too soupy, and don't be afraid to stir it up. Once it gets going, it will keep going and the rate of improvement just gets faster and faster as the starter develops. Don't overdo the sugar: 1 tsp per 1/2 cup of flour, max, and don't add it every time.

PROOFING THE STARTER
I think mine will "Speed up" over time, but for the starter-proofing stage, I mixed up the very foamy bootstrap-starter with a cup each of flour and water and let it proof in the warmed oven for a couple of hours, until it was convincingly bubbly (that is, even after stirring it all up, the bubbles came back immediately and stayed frothy and light)

BAKING
Knead it very well, 10 minutes by hand, and keep adding flour until the dough is soft. When it gets too sticky while kneading, throw in some more flour.
First rise was 4 HOURS under a hot, wet cloth in the warm oven (re-dampened the cloth a few times, and reheated the oven a few times)
After the first rise, I kneaded it again (added a few shakes of flour to keep it from sticking to me), formed the loaf, notched the top, and gave it another 4 hour rise as the first time. At htis point it was sufficiently loaf-like and I was sufficiently bored with the process, that I wanted bread... so, removed the warm cloth and turned on the oven: 350 degrees, 30 minutes in a convection oven. Baking times in a conventional would be longer, of course. I need to experiment with times and temps in the future.

Good results. Toasted with homemade rhubarb marmalade and some coffee = excellent way to start a Sunday morning.

- jim