Before it was a pandemic cliché, sourdough had centuries of devoted practitioners who treated their starters like living members of the household — because, technically, they are. This week we dig into the unhurried, deeply sensory world of home bread baking: the culture of cultures, the people who name their starters and carry them across state lines, and why standing in a kitchen at 6am listening to dough tell you it's ready might be one of the last truly meditative acts left in modern life. No bread machines. No shortcuts. Just flour, water, time, and an almost embarrassing amount of feeling.