Day 1:

1. Dissolve yeast in a large non-reactive mixing bowl with warm water. (Glass, crockery, plastic or stainless steel)
2. Stir in flour and whisk until well mixed.
3. Cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2:

1. You may see a little bubbling or you may not by day 2, that’s ok. Discard half of the starter.
2. Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup lukewarm water.
3. Whisk until smooth.
4. Cover and let rest at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Day 3:

1. You should be seeing some bubbling by now and an increase in volume. Now you will start with regular daily feedings.
2. Discard 1 cup of starter.
3. Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup lukewarm water; whisk to mix well.
4. Cover and let rest at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Day 4:

1. Repeat day 3 process.

Day 5:

1. Repeat day 3 process. By now the starter should have at least doubled in size and have lots of bubbles at the top. Starter should have a sour, tangy aroma.

To Use:

1. If you’ve been keeping your starter in the refrigerator, you’ll need to feed the starter and warm it up to room temperature for at least 4 hours - so plan ahead. Once the starter is bubbling and doubling in volume, remove what you need for your recipe and set it aside. Feed the remaining sourdough starter with 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup all-purpose flour; whisk until smooth. Allow the starter to feed for 2 hours at room temperature, then place back in the refrigerator.
2. Maintaining Your Sourdough Starter
3. If you’re a hardcore baker and intent on using your sourdough starter multiple times a week, then you’ll want to keep it at room temperature, feeding once-a-day like this:
4. Maintaining At Room Temperature: Daily Feeding
5. Stir the starter well and discard all but 1 cup of starter.
6. Stir in 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup all-purpose flour.
7. Mix until smooth.
8. Cover and repeat every 24 hours.
9. This is what I did in the beginning, but now I’m a little more laid back about it so I do the following method:
10. Maintaining in the refrigerator: Once-A-Week Feeding
11. Once you have a viable starter, store the starter in an airtight container. I keep mine in a large hermetic clamp jar in my refrigerator.
12. Once a week, take your starter out of the refrigerator. (There may be dark brownish to grayish liquid on top. drain this off; this is just alcohol from the fermentation process.)
13. Discard all but 1 cup of starter - this discarded portion can be used in the pancakes I mentioned about. I usually do this process on Saturday mornings when I cook a late breakfast/brunch for my family. The discard can also be used in pizza dough, crackers and other baked goods - coming soon!
14. Add 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup all-purpose flour; whisk until smooth and cover.
15. Allow starter to rest on your kitchen counter, which will warm it up a bit and allow it to begin feeding. After 2 to 4 hours return to the refrigerator.