This is perfectly WONDERFUL Sourdough Starter!! 17 years ago we ate a meal at an old friends house as we were passing through on our way out west. We STILL talk about that meal because of the bread she made! She used this starter. The negative reviews for this seem to be because some are having trouble keeping it going...I read in an artical to NEVER use "city," chlorinated water because the chlorine will inevidably "kill" the starter! The other complaints seem to be about the breads "sweetness". Well, it is "yummy sweet"!...I suppose it WOULD be better if there was a way to feed it with a more "natural" sweetener...but I am afraid to try. Does anyone know if we are suppose to cover this as it sits on the counter? I am using a mason jar like in the picture and I don't know if I should close it tight...somewhere I read that sour-dough needs oxygen? I CAN'T WAIT TO START BAKING UP A STORM!!

I can't believe I finally found this starter again! Thank you so much!

I've been making this bread for years and it's definitely a family favorite!

This is just like the starter I used to use years ago. I've had it for several weeks now and it's very easy to maintain. I use Becky's bread recipe too and my family loves it.

A great starter--I've given it out to several friends who had to have the recipe after trying the bread. It's very easy to maintain, too. I kept mine in the fridge and fed it/made bread every 3-7 days (ususally every 7).

the best starter recipe around!

So far, I've attempted this starter twice. The first time, I put it in a older two-piece casserole dish. This time around, I used a glass canister that has a push down close top. It smells like it should, but I remember when my mom made sourdough starter that it was thicker. Sure, it's easy. That's what drew me to it. But, I'm not sure that this starter is for me. I'm going to try it in a recipe this weekend and give it a shot. But, honestly, I don't think I'm going to be impressed. EDITED 06/27/08: This did not work for me. At all.

Well, I'm giving this recipe the benefit of the doubt. Here is why: I followed the instructions exactly but it did not get as sour as I'd like, however, maybe it could have something to do with the bread recipe itself versus just the starter. I did make Becky's Sourdough Bread to go with my first try because I thought it would be best to pair the two the first go round. It was very good just not as sour as I'd like. Maybe like a previous reviewer said, it takes weeks?

I was so excited to find this recipe. My grandmother made sourdough bread constantly. Anytime we went to her house she gave us bread to take home and of course we had it for every meal she cooked. She passed away almost two years ago and I just recently found her bread recipe along with the instructions on feeding the starter but I didn't have the starter, so thank you so much for sharing this recipe because it is exactly like hers!

This Starter is a no-brainer!! Easy to start and care for. The flavor keeps building the longer you feed and use it.

It took about six weeks for this starter to really develop the strong sour/tangy flavor I was looking for, but it was well worth the wait. I use it to make whole wheat sourdough bread, and the flavor is out of this world. Thanks, Becky!!

I use to have a recipe like this and lost it. It was very much like this one, except that it was NOT started with yeast as this one is. I finally found mine and tried and tried to make it and it never would rise. Since I found this one, I am so very pleased with it and my bread rises for very large loaves. Thanks to Becky, I am back making bread all the time. We never buy a loaf at the store anymore. I have one question though. Is there any reason that the starter needs to be refrigerated? I know that back in the Pioneer days they didn't have refrigeration and they kept it in the chuck wagon. I did notice that one person stated in her review that she kept hers sitting at room temperature.

easy

This was my first attempt at making bread... EVER! This was a simple and easy starter, even for a beginner! Thanks~

Was really looking forward to this starter, since it has such rave reviews. It smelled awesome, and though I followed the recipe to a "T" it didn't seem to work so well. I used this starter with Becky's sourdough I recipe.

Thanks for this recipe!! I've been looking for and testing different sourdough starter repipes, and this is the one I've been looking for! I also feed my starter 3/4 c. sugar along with the 3T flakes and 1 c. water. Thanks so much!!