Weight Loss/Maintenance

For the last batch of starter, I used a lump of roll dough I had put together. So this batch had milk, butter, yeast, unbleached flour and 1/2 tsp. of salt. I don't know if it'll get sour or go bad. lol Other times, I used flour and water, about 2 cups of each, some sugar, and 1/2 pack of yeast. Kept it at room temperature until it started working, then put it in a glass jar, and stuck it in the fridge. Fed it about 1/2 cup of flour, tsp sugar each week, and added water if it was too dry. If I made bread, I used a cup and replaced it with the same amount of flour, and water. I don't think I used sugar after I got it started.

In the past, like 20 years ago, I found a recipe online to begin a starter. I used that starter for a year or so, and stopped feeding it, I think.

There are a lot of recipes and methods for starters online, and on another post, DUer getagrip shared a method for making a natural starter:
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But really all it takes is some fresh whole wheat flour that hasn't been treated. Even some wheat from a whole food type market crushed up and put into a flour and water solution will work.

The key is to continuously throw away half your starter. Seems wasteful, but it isn't if you are dealing with a quarter cup of slurry. Each day, just take half and throw it away, then add 1/8 cup of fresh flour and a 1/8 cup of warm water. mix and keep warm.

After w few days you should start to notice bubbles forming. At that point don't throw any out, but add 1/4 cup flour and water. Then a 1/2 cup and so on until you are up to about 2 or 3 cups.

At that point, use a cup for starter, and feed a cup of water and flour back. Then refrigerate. When you want to bake again, just let it warm up, then add a cup of water and water, wait a day, and take the cup of starter out to use.

The initial wild yeasts come from the flour you use to feed it, not your kitchen. Over time your kitchen yeasts will join the party and the flavor profile will alter slightly.

It's all good. Just don't use chlorinated water.

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We had a nice discussion about sourdough bread. If you want better ideas, you could post in the Home & Family> Cooking & Baking topic. It is very active and fun to read