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On a whim a month or so ago I decided to make a sourdough starter and try to make sourdough bread. 6 loaves later (my avatar) I feel like I'm getting somewhere. 

I've been sticking to the one recipe (https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-sourdough-bread-224367) and altering things like whether to prove in the fridge or not.

Thing is, this recipe, and so many other places it seems, calls for me to take 1 tblsp of my starter and make a leaven from it overnight. But I have so much starter (one in the fridge, one on the counter) that I've just been using the pure starter to make my bread. 

So, I am not making leaven. I am calculating how much leaven the recipe says I would need (I often half the recipe) and just use that much starter. 

Is this ok? Should I be using leaven instead/is using straight starter restricting my bread's potential?

woah, the starter I got from the fridge and fed last night and this morning is almost overflowing it's jar! I'd better make something

I am looking for suggestions for "lovely" sourdough loaves (sweet, savory, or tart) to bake for kindhearted neighbors and friends.

Beyond thinking perhaps 300 grams of flour(s) per loaf, I  can't wrap my mind about possibilities. I suppose I could make long loaves of SD French bread, or round SD boule, but Maybe there is something else that says "thank you".

 I am an experienced home bread baker, own plenty of bakeware and could use the diversion.

TIA

I am brand new to posting on the forum but have used the site many times for advice. I have found other older posts that have addressed similar problems, but I've still found no solution to my own. I have been making sourdough bread successfully (recipes; trial and error) for almost two years and have always wanted to start milling my own flour. I just purchased the Nurtimill Harvest Grain Mill and have used it on two batches (third is fermenting now). Here are my results:

-Flour is gritty. Has a sandy texture.

-Dough does not hold together

-"Stretch & fold" is impossible as the dough doesn't actually stretch. It just breaks.

-Very little air in dough or final product

-Bread turns out very moist and flat

First, I've wondered if I'm grinding it too coarse. The Nurtimill manual says turn the knob to the left until you hear the stones start rubbing together, then turn it once back the other way so you don't hear them rubbing together anymore. I did this and this is my result. Secondly, I've been using Nature's Earthly Choice Red Winter Wheat. Admittedly, I bought sealed packages from the discount grocery store. Is this my problem?

Any help is appreciated! Thank you!