Gather together your ingredients. If you are lucky you won't have to go any further than your own pantry. Once you get into the bread making habit I assure you these things will always be on hand :-)

I chose a widemouth gallon canning jar The opening allows for a spatula and they are so pretty. Your new yeastie friends will be living on your counter for a while you should give them some fancy digs

Add water to flour...

...and stir.

Sammy always wants to participate in my kitchen experiments. Later i will find somewhere cat proof so he doesn't decide to liberate our bread making friends in the night.

Cover loosely and let sit over-night. I use a few layers of plastic wrap with some slits cut in it as a lid. If you seal the container the gas that builds up during fermentation may cause an explosion

In 24ish hours you will have noticed that there is twice as much "sponge" in the jar. The mighty Yeasties have done their job and now they are hungry again. If there is a liquid on top just stir it in

Remove half of the starter and throw it away. Now add in your daily measure of flour and water. These bubbles are proof that our little Yeasties are getting to work. Cover and wait till tomorrow.

Repeat the process of feeding the sponge for at least a full week to strengthen it enough to make your first loaf. When it grows up start keeping it in the fridge and it only needs a weekly feeding.

As long as you keep up with your feeding this starter can be with you for a long time Many famous bakeries have sourdough that has passed thru generations. It's the beginning of a beautiful friendship

I will post a link to my sourdough bread recipe just as soon as I have finished baking. Hang tight and get to work on your sponge. :-)

How to start a sourdough starter

Wild Yeasties are all around us. If given an appropriate habitat they will hang out in your kitchen and help you make delicious sourdough bread for as long as you feed them.