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+### Sourdough Starters
+
+(These instructions have been adapted from a posting at
+thefreshloaf.com by Sourdolady.)
+
+**Procedure for Making Sourdough Starter**
+
+**Day 1: mix...**
+2 T. whole grain flour (rye and/or wheat)
+2 T. unsweetened pineapple juice or orange juice
+Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
+
+**Day 2: add...**
+2 T. whole grain flour
+2 T. juice
+Stir well, cover and let sit at room temperature 24 hours. At day 2
+you may (or may not) start to see some small bubbles.
+
+**Day 3: add...**
+2 T. whole grain flour
+2 T. juice
+Stir well, cover and let sit at room temperature 24 hours.
+
+**Day 4:**
+Stir down, measure out 1/4 cup and discard the rest.
+To the 1/4 cup add...
+1/4 cup flour[^ft-1-flr]
+2 Tbs water
+
+[^ft-1-flr]:  You can feed the starter whatever type of flour you want
+at this point (unbleached white, whole wheat, rye). If you are new to
+sourdough, a white starter is probably the best choice. Unbleached
+all-purpose flour is fine.
+
+**Repeat Day 4:**
+Once daily until the mixture starts to expand and smell yeasty. It is
+not unusual for the mixture to get very bubbly around Day 3 or 4 and
+then go completely flat and appear dead. If the mixture does not start
+to grow again by Day 6, add 1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar with the
+daily feeding. This will lower the pH level a bit more and it should
+kill off competitors to the yeast, allowing them to thrive.
+
+**How it Works**
+The yeast we are trying to cultivate will only become active when the
+environment is right. When you mix flour and water together, you end
+up with a mixture that is close to neutral in pH, and our yeasties
+need it a bit more on the acid side. This is why we are using the
+acidic fruit juice. There are other microbes in the flour that prefer
+a more neutral pH, and so they are the first to wake up and grow. Some
+will produce acids as by-products. That helps to lower the pH to the
+point that they can no longer grow, until the environment is just
+right for wild yeast to activate. The length of time it takes for this
+to happen varies.
+
+When using just flour and water, many nascent starters will grow a
+gas-producing bacteria that slows down the process. It can raise the
+starter to three times its volume in a relatively short time. Don't
+worry--it is harmless. It is a bacterium sometimes used in other food
+fermentations like cheeses, and it is in the environment, including
+wheat fields and flours. It does not grow at a low pH, and the fruit
+juices keep the pH low enough to stop it from growing. Things will
+still progress, but this is the point at which people get frustrated
+and quit, because the gassy bacteria stop growing. It will appear that
+the "yeast" died on you, when in fact, you haven't begun to grow yeast
+yet. When the pH drops below 3.5-4 or so, the yeast will activate,
+begin to grow, and the starter will expand again. You just need to
+keep it fed and cared for until then.
+
+Once your wild yeast is growing, the character and flavor will improve
+if you continue to give it daily feedings and keep it at room
+temperature for a couple of weeks longer.
+
+After that time, it should be kept in the refrigerator between
+uses/feedings. Every week or so, take it out of the fridge,
+feed it by retaining only ¼ cup of starter and then feed it ¼
+cup flour and 2 Tbs water.