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If you want to make your own:
Mix some flour and water together uncovered for a couple days. "Feed" it by adding more flour and water each day and stir it down. You have starter!
How to take care of starter:
Add flour and water to it from time to time. Put it in the fridge after a feeding to slow the progress.
That's really about it. Then do whatever a recipe tells you to do with it: mix it with other ingredients, add specialty water from potatoes, add specialty flours, add milk, etc.
If you want my more detailed explanation, keep reading. Here is something I wrote up when I gave some of my starter away to one of my fiance's coworker.
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Caring for Sourdough Starter
As specific as these instructions and tips are, I am purposely not giving exact measurements because you will have to experiment on your own how you like to use it. I wrote this off the top of my head, but provided a couple blogs below to compare notes. I find I prefer to let it sit out for two days on the counter between feedings for a medium-light sour taste for waffles and pancakes. Most bread recipes call for mixing the starter with all required water and flour and letting it sit overnight in the fridge. Some recipes ask for added yeast and then let the entire dough rise overnight in the fridge (I like this version personally). True sourdough with no added yeast can require up to two full days to make. Experiment with different recipes and styles to see what you like best!
Temperature:
Natural yeast thrives in temperatures between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal growth. This temperature is common on top of the fridge. Natural yeast does not like the warmer temperatures like commercial, active dry yeast does. Be sure to use cold or room-temperature water as well.
Utensils and Containers:
1) Use glass, plastic, silicone, or wood utensils and containers.
2) Metal is not good for the starter (so I've read, but have not experimented otherwise).
Ingredients:
1) Always use cold or room-temperature bottled or filtered water. The chlorine in regular tap water will kill the bacteria.
2) Use unbleached all-purpose or higher quality flour (bread, whole-wheat, other whole-grain) for keeping the starter. Bleached all-purpose was use to create this starter, but once I switched to unbleached, it took off quickly and I never went back. Apparently, the starter eats the natural sugars in the flour which are not as abundant in bleached flour.
3) If you are going to add honey or sugar, only add small amounts. Too much will make the bacteria produce too much alcohol. I have not added any for this starter.
4) If your starter does not bubble in three days, you can jump-start it by adding a little commercial active dry yeast. I never have for this starter.
5) Add a little acidity to your starer with a squirt of lemon or lime juice. Yeast loves an acidic environment so long as you don't put so much it kills it.
Regular Feeding (Every Day Use):
1) Separate half of the starter and use in a recipe, give it away, or discard it.
2) Double the volume of your starter with two parts flour and one part filtered water.
3) Keep starter in warm place between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
4) Repeat steps 1-3 up to twice daily (for less sour) or every other day (for more sour) depending on how sour you want your starter or how often you use it.
Air:
1) Starter must breathe. It is a living colony of organisms.
2) The bacteria in the starter form carbon dioxide and will make sealed containers explode into a gooey mess. Some use cheesecloth, some cover partly with a mason jar lid, I use a fold-top sandwich bag with a rubber band. This is so I can keep flies out and give the starter a "lung". Plus, if it decides to explode, I only loose a baggie instead of the jar!
Color:
1) White: Happy starter.
2) Gray Color: If it turns gray, scrape off the top and toss it. Then feed it. Some stir it in. I don't trust it.
3) Pink Color: If it is pink, toss out the whole thing. This is bad bacteria. It usually only forms on starter that has been ignored or had foreign, bad bacteria mixed in with it from old ingredients.
Consistency:
1) Bubbles: Happy Starter.
2) Flat and no bubbles: Starter is neutral. If it stays neutral too long it will start to change color and go bad.
3) Liquid layer on top: Over-producing starter (extra hydration and-or sugar). This is the alcohol the bacteria have produced. Stir it back in. It adds to the sourness of the starter. I read somewhere that this alcohol also kills other harmful bacteria.
4) Globs: This just means it has lower hydration (extra flour). Some prefer to have the more chunky starters when traveling with it from place to place.
Short-term Storage (One Week):
When not planning on cooking soon, store your starter loosely covered in the fridge. It will be good for a week or so.
1) Stir.
2) Separate half and use or discard.
3) Add one part flour, one part filtered water.
4) Let sit overnight.
5) Put back in fridge for another week.
Short-term Storage (Two Weeks):
Follow the same instructions as the One-Week version, just give it a little extra "food" (flour) to feed on while you are ignoring it in the back of the fridge.
Long-term Storage (One Year):
I have not actually done this, but have read about it:
1) Spread out the starter onto parchment paper very thinly and let dry until crisp in slightly warmed (but not on) oven, in the sun, or in the open air.
2) Place flakes in air-tight container and freeze for up to a year (some say indefinitely).
3) Bring it back to life with a little water, then feed it as normal.
Some blogs to compare notes:
http://www.handletheheat.com/how-to-make-sourdough-starter/
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Temperature:
Natural yeast thrives in temperatures between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal growth. This temperature is common on top of the fridge. Natural yeast does not like the warmer temperatures like commercial, active dry yeast does. Be sure to use cold or room-temperature water as well.
Utensils and Containers:
1) Use glass, plastic, silicone, or wood utensils and containers.
2) Metal is not good for the starter (so I've read, but have not experimented otherwise).
Ingredients:
1) Always use cold or room-temperature bottled or filtered water. The chlorine in regular tap water will kill the bacteria.
2) Use unbleached all-purpose or higher quality flour (bread, whole-wheat, other whole-grain) for keeping the starter. Bleached all-purpose was use to create this starter, but once I switched to unbleached, it took off quickly and I never went back. Apparently, the starter eats the natural sugars in the flour which are not as abundant in bleached flour.
3) If you are going to add honey or sugar, only add small amounts. Too much will make the bacteria produce too much alcohol. I have not added any for this starter.
4) If your starter does not bubble in three days, you can jump-start it by adding a little commercial active dry yeast. I never have for this starter.
5) Add a little acidity to your starer with a squirt of lemon or lime juice. Yeast loves an acidic environment so long as you don't put so much it kills it.
Regular Feeding (Every Day Use):
1) Separate half of the starter and use in a recipe, give it away, or discard it.
2) Double the volume of your starter with two parts flour and one part filtered water.
3) Keep starter in warm place between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
4) Repeat steps 1-3 up to twice daily (for less sour) or every other day (for more sour) depending on how sour you want your starter or how often you use it.
Air:
1) Starter must breathe. It is a living colony of organisms.
2) The bacteria in the starter form carbon dioxide and will make sealed containers explode into a gooey mess. Some use cheesecloth, some cover partly with a mason jar lid, I use a fold-top sandwich bag with a rubber band. This is so I can keep flies out and give the starter a "lung". Plus, if it decides to explode, I only loose a baggie instead of the jar!
Color:
1) White: Happy starter.
2) Gray Color: If it turns gray, scrape off the top and toss it. Then feed it. Some stir it in. I don't trust it.
3) Pink Color: If it is pink, toss out the whole thing. This is bad bacteria. It usually only forms on starter that has been ignored or had foreign, bad bacteria mixed in with it from old ingredients.
Consistency:
1) Bubbles: Happy Starter.
2) Flat and no bubbles: Starter is neutral. If it stays neutral too long it will start to change color and go bad.
3) Liquid layer on top: Over-producing starter (extra hydration and-or sugar). This is the alcohol the bacteria have produced. Stir it back in. It adds to the sourness of the starter. I read somewhere that this alcohol also kills other harmful bacteria.
4) Globs: This just means it has lower hydration (extra flour). Some prefer to have the more chunky starters when traveling with it from place to place.
Short-term Storage (One Week):
When not planning on cooking soon, store your starter loosely covered in the fridge. It will be good for a week or so.
1) Stir.
2) Separate half and use or discard.
3) Add one part flour, one part filtered water.
4) Let sit overnight.
5) Put back in fridge for another week.
Short-term Storage (Two Weeks):
Follow the same instructions as the One-Week version, just give it a little extra "food" (flour) to feed on while you are ignoring it in the back of the fridge.
Long-term Storage (One Year):
I have not actually done this, but have read about it:
1) Spread out the starter onto parchment paper very thinly and let dry until crisp in slightly warmed (but not on) oven, in the sun, or in the open air.
2) Place flakes in air-tight container and freeze for up to a year (some say indefinitely).
3) Bring it back to life with a little water, then feed it as normal.
Some blogs to compare notes:
http://www.handletheheat.com/how-to-make-sourdough-starter/
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337
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