Thom Hackett

Made with organic rye flour.  Natural and Organic products are readily available in your supermarket.  Best results for sourdough starter are obtained from organic rye flour rather than wheat flour, perhaps because rye contains a low phytate content than wheat.

Ingredients

1 quart wide-mouth mason jar with lid or other jar

1 cup organic rye flour

1 cup filtered or spring water

Cooking Method

Blend a cup of warm filtered or spring water and a cup of organic rye flour, and pour it into the jar.

Cover the jar with the lid but do not screw the lid on, just sit it on top of the jar.  If you prefer you can place some cheesecloth on top of the jar.  Place the jar in a warm spot in your kitchen and leave for 48 hours.

That's it.  After 48 hours your starter is ready to use.

How Do You Know When It's Ready:  When it has a pleasant sour or berry smell and it develops a bubbly froth, then it done.

How To Save The Starter For Later Use:  If you don't use all of the starter when it is ready then screw the top on but not tight--leave a little breathing room--and place it in the refrigerator.

How To Keep The Starter Going:  Fed it every 24 hours.  To keep your starter going you should keep it in a warm place; 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit is just right.  This allows the yeast already present in the flour--and in the air--to grow rapidly.  Temperatures over 100 degrees will kill it but really nothing else will do so.  The way you fed the starter to keep it going is throw away half of it and then add a half-cup of flour and a half-cup of water.  Do this every 24 hours.