This is a thumb-nail sketch of how I start a sourdough starter.

Whole grains in general, and organic stone-ground grains in particular, have more wild yeasts on them than highly processed white flours. So, pick up a sack of organic, stone-ground, whole wheat or rye flour.

Most people feel that rye works better, however I've recently had better luck with whole wheat flour. Once your starter is healthy, you can use it with any kind of flour, so you can use rye flour even if you don't plan on making rye bread. If your grocery store doesn't have such a thing, check out your local health food store. If your health food store doesn't carry such a thing, ask them to order some flour for you from Arrowhead Mills or Bob's Red Mill.

A recurring question with regards to sourdough starter is what sort of water may be used with it. Many people insist that sourdough starter can be killed by chlorinated water. Others say that it can not be started with chlorinated water. In my experience, chlorinated water has not been a problem. I have started, fed and used starters with chlorinated water with no problems. However, I have heard that the more persistent forms of chlorine used by some cities, such as chloramine, can cause problems.

In general, if your tap water smells and tastes good it will probably work well with sourdough. If you have problems with your starters, you may want to try using dechlorinated water. Since few home filters will remove chlorine from water, and from what I am told neither boiling nor standing will remove chloramine, I suggest that you try bottled water if you are experiencing what you think might be water related problems with your sourdough.

Once you have your grain, mix 1/4 cup of water with 3/8 cup of whole grain flour in a quart sized container. Mix them well, cover with plastic wrap or a saran wrap quick covers, and put in an 85F area. This will be a thick mass, even a very thick mass. That's OK. A gas oven with a pilot light, or an oven without a pilot light with its light bulb on should be close. You might want to put a thermometer in the oven to check its temperature. Now wait about 12 hours.

There is a very good chance that at the end of the 12 hours, you'll see bubbles in the starter.

Whether or not you see the bubbles, feed the starter by adding another 1/4 cup of waterm stirring that into the starter, then adding another 3/8 cup of your whole grain flour and stirring that in. I like to stir after I add the water and again after I add the flour, it puts more air into the starter which helps its growth at this phase of its life and it also makes it easier to mix. At one time, I used to suggest not feeding the starter until it showed signs of life. Lately I've come to feel that this is as absurd as not feeding your children until they make the honor roll in elementary school. Starters, like children, need to be fed regularly. And you can't start doing so too early.

Every 12 hours after this, discard half the starter and then feed it another 1/4 cup of water, stir, add 3/8 cup of whole grain flour and stir again. Keep doing this until you do see signs of life in the starter.

At this point, you can switch to white flour if you prefer. You will need to continue to feed your starter every 8 to 12 hours to encourage the growth of the micro-organisms. Again, discard half the starter each time you feed the starter and then add 1/4 cup of water, stir, add 3/8 cup of flour and stir again. You should double the size of the starter with each feeding.

The reason we discard half the starter each time is because we want to double the size of the starter with each feeding. If we don't discard half the starter each time, the amount of starter will fill a modest sized swimming pool in about 10 days, an Olympic sized pool in 14 days, and a second pool the same size 12 hours later. That's a lot of flour and that's a whole lot of stirring!

Some people object to discarding starter. It is made of flour, and it seems a shame and a waste to throw it away. I'll suggest you save the discarded starter in a separate jar and when you have enough, you can use it to make pizza shells.

Within 3 or 4 days, you should have a very lively starter. You should see lots of bubbles in the starter, and a layer of froth on top of the starter. Your goal is a starter that will rise to double its size after feeding.

When you feed the starter, it will rise. It can take 3 to 6 hours to reach its peak, depending on how active the starter is. Once it reaches its peak, it will start to recede as the starter slows down. If you feed your starter and go to work, you could miss the starter's peak, and see a quiet starter when you get home. You might think nothing is happening as a result. If you look at the container that holds the starter, you'll see that the starter will leave streaks on the side of the container.

When the starter is doubling in size after a feeding, it is ready to be used to make bread.

If you won't be using the starter for several days, feed the starter and then pour the starter into a quart canning jar, taking care not to fill the container more than half full. Put the jar's lid on loosely to allow any gas the starter produces to escape. Then put the jar into the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. The starter can be kept in the refrigerator for at least a month between feedings. If you are going to use the starter in the next day or two, just leave it out and feed it every 12 hours or so.

A sourdough starter will continue to mature for some time, gaining in taste and power. Enjoy!