Sourdough Starter – Local Atmosphere

- Combine in a GLASS bowl, 1 1/2 cups warm water (80-85 degrees) and 2 cups of white all-purpose flour. Use no sugars and especially, use NO commercial yeasts! Mix well being sure to incorporate a lot of air into the mixture. Commercial yeasts merely result in the cultivation of commercial yeasts! It won't be sour (unless you're quite lucky) and it won't behave like normal sourdough so none of the above starter usage and maintenance instructions will apply! Some people have reported that their commercial-yeast started starters do get sour eventually, but that just means the starter has finally converted to the natural microorganisms (including the slower growing natural yeast)...so why not start it out right in the first place and avoid months of using so-so starter while you're waiting for it to"get good"?

- Place the bowl in an 80-85 degree location. Leave uncovered so the natural microorganisms can settle on the surface. Fan air onto the surface using a magazine or something similar. This helps to drive more microorganisms (yeast and lacto bacilli) into thesurface.

- Let the mixture proof for 24 hours. Stir the mixture well once or twice during the 24 hour first proof. Before and after each stirring, fan the surface with air again.

- At the end of the 24 hours, examine for bubbles (use a glass bowl). It's unlikely that there will be any yet, but you never know. Stir well and fan again.

- Repeat the 24 hour proof as described, including the brisk stirring and fanning.

- At 48 hours total time, once again examine, stir, and fan the mixture. Continue to leave uncovered. Any skin that forms should be stirred back in as soon as it is noticed so no microorganisms will be kept out of the starter by the dry skin. Remove 1/2 cup of the starter, and replace it with 1/2 cup warm water and about 2/3 cup white all-purpose flour.

- Continue this 48 hour cycle very carefully until it's obvious that the first bubbles are definately appearing in the starter. Then, refer to the section entitled NEW STARTER for further instructions. It typically takes from 3 to 7 or 8 days for the starter to begin to work. Late spring, summer, or early fall are best times to do this. Winter air may not contain enough spores to get it going, but it's always fun to try. Don't count on having starter for bread when starting a new starter like this because it takes about 3 or 4 weeks MINIMUM for the entire process of developing a vibrant, healthy starter suitable for your recipes.