Sourdough Starter

I have had some friends asking me about culturing your own starter for sour dough.  Making bread is something new for me, and of course I started with the hardest thing-sourdough!  The upside is that each loaf tastes better then the last loaf does!  My last loaf was actually pretty good, but it was too "short" or "flat" to make sandwiches.  I got this recipe from the book "Sourdough Basics" from the School of Homesteading".  http://www.cfeeschool.com/

Ingredients
purified water
stoneground organic whole wheat flour
clean, half gallon glass jar

Step1.  Combine flour and water
In a half-gallon glass jar, combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until you begin to see bubbles form on top.  It may take up to 3 to 5 days.

Step 2.  Feed the mixture when it bubbles, discard all but 1/4 cup of the mixture.  Add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.  As the yeast continues to thrive, it will become frothy.

Step 3.  Feed the growing yeasts until the starter is very active
Once a day, discard all but 1/4 cup of the starter.  Feed the starter in this way until it can double in 4-6 hours.  The best way to keep track of the progress is to mark the jar with a permanent marker soon as you feed it.  Then you can more accurately tell how much it has raised.

Once it can double in 4-6 hours it is ready to use. 


Have fun, and just keep practicing!
Missy