Mary Claire Langston — Sourdough Expert

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About Mary Claire

Mary Claire Langston grew up in a small farmhouse kitchen outside of Macon, Georgia, where her grandmother kept a sourdough starter on the counter year-round — right next to the butter dish and the sweet tea pitcher. She didn't know it was remarkable. She thought everybody's kitchen smelled like that.

It wasn't until she left for college and tried to replicate her grandmother's biscuits that she realized sourdough was a living thing that needed tending, not a recipe you could just write down and follow. That realization sent her on a thirty-year journey into the science and soul of fermented bread.

Mary Claire trained at the Tennessee Culinary Institute and spent eight years baking professionally — first at a small artisan bakery in Chattanooga, then running the bread program at a farm-to-table restaurant in Nashville. She's been writing about food and fermentation since 2009, contributing to regional food publications across the South and building a loyal following of home bakers who trust her the same way she trusted her grandmother: completely.

In 2019, she inherited her grandmother's original sourdough starter — the same culture her grandmother had kept alive since the early 1970s, passed down from a neighbor who brought it over from Eastern Tennessee. Mary Claire still feeds it every morning before her coffee gets cold.

She lives in Nashville with her husband Dale and their two grown kids. Her kitchen counter currently holds three active starters, a jar of homemade hot honey, and a cast iron skillet that hasn't been washed with soap since 2003.

Why Sourdoughstarter.com?

When the team at Mother's Country Store asked Mary Claire to contribute to Sourdoughstarter.com, she said yes for one reason: too many good home bakers give up too soon. She's watched it happen for years — someone gets excited, tries once or twice, gets a flat loaf, and decides they just don't have "the knack." Mary Claire doesn't believe in the knack. She believes in information.

Every article she writes is built on one question: what does a beginning baker need to know right now to not quit? The rest is just telling the truth about bread.

Credentials & Experience

• Tennessee Culinary Institute — Artisan Baking Certificate
• 8 years professional bakery experience (Chattanooga, Nashville)
• Food writer since 2009 — Southern Living regional contributor, Nashville Scene food column
• Certified Bread Baker — Bread Bakers Guild of America
• 30+ years maintaining active sourdough cultures
• Workshop instructor — teaches sourdough fundamentals across Middle Tennessee

Her Philosophy

"Sourdough isn't hard. It's just alive. Once you understand that you're working with something instead of just following a recipe, everything clicks. My grandmother never measured a thing in her life and she baked the best bread I've ever eaten. That's the goal — to get you to that place."

— Mary Claire Langston

Articles by Mary Claire

Browse all of Mary Claire's guides, tutorials, and recipes on the Baker's Playbook. Start with her most-read pieces:

• What Is a Sourdough Starter?
• Sourdough Starter for Beginners
• 7 Sourdough Starter Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
• The 1/3/3 Rule: The Only Feeding Ratio You Need
• Get a Free Sourdough Starter