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[...] you have your starter  this crust takes only and hour or so to make.  Rather fast for a pizza crust.  The recipe makes [...]

[...] 2009 Baking, Bread, Recipes, Sourdough I have been on a sourdough kick lately.  After I made my sourdough starter I have been making everything with it.  Last weekend I made fabulous sourdough pancakes.  They [...]

[...] 2009 –  Print This Post Baking, Bread, Recipes, Sourdough A couple of weeks ago I made a sourdough starter and ever since I have been getting emails about making bread.  I made pizza’s and pancakes [...]

So I am following your instructions, but I was looking on another website and it said that you have to feed the starter 2-3 times a day, and if there is a liquid on top that it is ‘hooch’ and you have to do all kinds of corrections… did I do something wrong?? I did mix everything….???

There are a ton of ways to make sour dough starter, some use straight wild yeast, while the one on my blog uses commercial yeast to get it started and then relies on the time on counter to gather wild yeast. During the initial starter phase with the method that I used, you are going to have some separation. You need to stir it at least twice a day, preferrably three times a day during this period. If your starter fails to bubble after the third day or after I would feed it (3/4 cup flour, 3/4 water, 1 tsp) and stir it, that will incorporate everything. Stirring also oxygenates the starter and keeps the yeast alive. As long as you have yeast, you don’t have to worry about other organisms in the starter. The yeast creates an enviroment that makes it almost impossible for bacteria to live in. You should look for the sour smell to appear around day three. This is the fermenting that makes sour dough so delicious. Once you have your starter made and in the refrigerator, you should stir it every couple of days and feed it every 8-10 days- 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 water, 1 tsp honey or sugar. Once again, you will have some separation, just make sure to stir it to keep the yeast alive and oxygenated. But to answer your question, everything is fine. If it stops bubbling you need to feed it to give the yeast more sugars. I forgot to add this to my post. Thanks for the question.