Back to Sourdough....I can't stay away!

So I seem to be a sucker for punishment. I had no real success with sourdough bread but I am finding my own too bland at the moment and the price of good sourdough leaves me breathless so I have been scouring the underbelly of the internet to find more about sourdough success. There is a whole world of information and passion out there just focusing on naturally leavened breads! I saw one heated debate where a forum poster stated that another poster's wife was the devil incarnate... somehow this was relevant to different styles of sourdough starter!
A very good resource is The Fresh Loaf and one from just around the corner from me from Oatlands Tasmania we have The Sourdough Companion . I have also been relying heavily on this River Cottage recipe.
I think I am getting there. First I discovered I was just being lazy and not feeding my starter enough. Here is my starter:

I cook the excess up as a big pancake for the chickens:

I made a sponge according to the river Cottage Recipe: 

 Then I sort of freaked out because my dough was too dry and I added more starter. 

This loaf was more successful than my previous attempt I have blogged about a couple of years ago but the bread was very dense and too sour still.

It looks good though....
I have another sponge with a better fed starter going as I type... fingers crossed..I really must try to stick to the directions more!