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To get your very own sourdough starter you have a few options.

A nice, healthy, bubbly sourdough starter

1. Find someone with one and ask for some. Check out fermenting pages in your local area if you don't know anyone personally with one.
They tend to be generous people who like to share the love.

2. Buy one. You can order a starter very easily online. Just follow the instructions and you will have your own sourdough starter.

3. Capture your own wild yeast.
This process takes  a week.
Combine 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup water in a non metallic bowl. Cover with a tea towel to keep insects out, then leave in a warm spot for 24 hours.
Every day add a few tablespoons of flour and a few tablespoons of water, mix well and replace the tea towel.
After a few days your starter will begin to form bubbles, after 7 days it will be ready for bread making.

4. Use Kombucha for a sourdough starter.
Kombucha is a fermented drink, full of natural yeasts and bacteria, perfect for inoculating a sourdough starter.
If you already brew your own kombucha, save the yeasty dregs from the bottom of your brew and use them.
If not, you can purchase bottled kombucha in health food shops, just ensure it's raw.
Combine 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup kombucha, stir well and cover with a tea towel to keep insects out. Leave somewhere warm for 24 hours.
After 24 hours the starter should be forming bubbles.
If not, don't give up. Feed it another 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup kombucha, mix well, cover and recheck in another 8 - 10 hours.
As soon as the starter is bubbling and frothy with a slight sour smell, you can start baking.

What flour to use

Rye is the most common sourdough starter.
It produces a dense loaf, that my children aren't so keen on.
We use spelt flour which is an ancient variety of wheat. It has a lower gluten and phytic acid content than regular wheat, and produces a delicious loaf of bread, although it will be heavier than a loaf made from wheat.
My starters are more active when using white flour, although some people do prefer whole flour.

Feeding your starter

I feed my starter once a day. The more you feed it, the more active it will be.

If you don't plan to use it in the next week then store it in the fridge, where it will keep for months. Just take it out, re feed it, and it will kick back into action.

I feed my starter 3-4 Tablespoons white spelt flour and 3 - 4 Tablespoons water daily and mix well.
I tend to bake every 2nd day, so you may need to adjust this depending on how often you intend to bake.

Follow me to learn how to make a loaf of yummy sourdough bread.