Today I finally got out the bowl I bought last week for my sourdough starter, the huge bag of flour, the yeast, and the measuring cup.  After looking through the variety of different starters out there, I opted for a simple recipe on All Recipes dot com. 

For mine, I put 2 cups of water, 2 cups of flour, and literally a spoonful of sugar into my purpose bowl.  You should not use a metal container for this project!  Then I added a single standard packet of yeast to the mix and covered it loosely, and set it to the side to do its thing.  After four to eight days of caring for the mixture daily, it will be mature enough to only “feed” once a week or so. 

Feeding consisted of taking about a cup full of the sourdough out, and replacing it with a fresh half cup of water and half cup of flour.  This keeps it growing, and can do so for many, many years. 

The point of the sourdough is threefold in the instance of The Prospering Peasant.  One is for flavoring.  Sourdough is distinct from other types of bread.  The second is to provide the yeast needed to raise homemade bread.  The third is to cut the cost of homemade bread by that little bit, making bread that much more affordable when baking at home. 

This is a project I have once before experimented with when my family lived in England.  Today’s start is meant to last a long time, and to actually be used in home baking.  As with everything on this site, I will let you know how it goes as I go along! 

When I do make my first loaf, I will let you know the recipe I use, any modifications I make, and how it comes out!

Meanwhile, here is the link to the recipe I have used to guide me for my basic starter!