All these years, and you’ve been thinking, “wow, my genius brother is so smart – he even knows how to extract yeast directly from the air! I’ll never be as smart or funny or well-liked or good-looking as him!”

Well I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news? You’re right, you never will. But the good news is that you’ll at least be able to make a sourdough starter – purely because of the amazing directions I’m going to give you in this webpage.

But first: the equipment you’ll need!

• All-purpose flour (at least 3 cups)
• Wheat or rye flour (at least 3 cups)
• Water (distilled if your tap water is highly chlorinated)
• A largish jar (ideally glass or other see-through material)
• A scale (or a half-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scale)
• Something to stir with that fits in the jar

One tip that will help over the coming days is to weigh your jar and write down the weight before putting anything in. Some people have fancy jars that come pre-weighed. But it’s important to double-check with your scale. But never check with two scales. As Mark Twain may have said, “when you have a clock you always know what time it is. When you have two you are never quite certain.”