WILD YEAST SEED STARTER

(Ready to use in 4 - 5 days)

2 cups flour (whole wheat, rye, spelt or bread flour)
1 cup lukewarm water

DAY 1: In a medium-sized bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour and 1/2 cup of the water. The mixture will be like thick pancake batter.
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and leave it in a warm place.
In this nurturing environment the wild yeasts and sourdough building bacteria will start to grow. Most of them are clinging to the flour, but some are floating in the air.

DAY 2: No action is required, let the microorganisms do their job.

DAY 3: Check your starter. It should be lively, puffed up, with bubbles in it, have a slightly sour smell and possibly a darker surface; this means the yeasts are doing their work.

Add an additional 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water to the starter, and mix well. Let the bowl, covered with a kitchen towel, sit in a warm place for additional 24 to 48 hours.

DAY 4 or 5: Your seed starter is ready when it emits a nice sour smell, forms bubbles and its surface has turned slightly dark.
Transfer it to a container with a lid (big enough that the somewhat deflated starter can rise again), and place it in the refrigerator. Use it to make mother starter for sourdough breads.