Maureen asked for a recipe for a sourdough starter. Here's the one I
used:
3/4 cup plain (preferably homemade) yogurt*
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 C unbleached flour
Mix everything together in a 2-quart glass or pottery bowl. Cover
loosely with plastic wrap and let stand on top of the stove or on the
countertop for 3 days, stirring once a day. (Don't use a metal spoon.) It
should be bubbly after three days. Every time you use it, replenish it with
two parts water and three parts flour. I usually feed it with 2/3 C water
and 1 cup flour.
*Making homemade yogurt is really easy and fun, especially if you have a
microwave oven so you can heat the milk that way instead of standing over the
stove stirring it. Homemade yogurt is much better than "store-bought." It's
so good that I actually prefer it plain!
Kris