Sourdough

What's a good way to obtain sourdough starter?

Start your own sourdough. A little flour, a little water left over from boiling potatoes. Let it sit out on the kitchen counter for a day or three and Voila! you have sourdough starter.

Mike Avery barged in and commented.... Actually, all you need is the flour and water. Start with whole wheat or rye flour. About 1/4 cup of water and 3/8 cup flour. Stir it well, and cover it with plastic film. The critters are already in the flour, all you need to do is encourage them.

When they start bubbling, in a day or two, discard about half the starter and mix in another 1/4 cup of water and then add 3/8 cup of white flour. Unless you want a whole wheat or rye flour starter, in which case you can keep using those flours.

About every 12 hours repeat the step above. When your starter can rise to double in size, it's ready to be used.

I've not tried them, but check out http://www.sourdo.com/culture.htm and the review at http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/breads-yeast/sourdough-bread-2.

The answer to the FAQ "What is San Francisco Sourdough?" is also interesting: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/food/sourdough/faq/section-31.html.

''How would someone in California know anything about sourdough bread. Ah, that's right it there.'' ''' Mike mumbles... Not really. Sourdough has been around since the time of the Pharoahs. It's the first leaven, and still the best. San Francisco sourdough isn't even unique - the critters that make San Francisco sourdough have been found in the wild all over the world.'''

You can also check out http://www.sourdoughhome.com and http://www.samartha.net two very good sourdough sites. (Mike's Disclaimer - I wrote and host sourdoughhome.com)