I made a starter in 2018, using water and flour. Been using it ever since. There are probably close to a dozen others using my starter. One of my friend’s wives refuses to buy sourdough bread any more preferring to make her own.
If you have a good one, hold on to it. I tried to make sourdough using a standard Bread Bible recipe during the plandemic. It came out looking weird. Flying Saucer shaped. Crust was brown, but softer than your typical sourdough. Inside looks like muffin but with a more gluten firmness making it ideal for soaking up gobs of butter or dipping in olive oil. You don't so much cut the UFO up as you break it apart Last Supper style..
Still buy normal sourdough loaves from a great bakery nearby for sandwich or toast duty, but break out the starter for those more funky dinning occasions where you WANT to fill up on bread.