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Menopause, or peri-memopause, or annoying, life-altering freak-show of physical and emotional craziness, or whatever you feel comfortable calling it, pretty much kicked my behind, this weekend.  I’m explaining this only because my original intent was to do my first vlog (video blog) tutorial on fondant flower making.  Which pretty much brings us to the reason I have been reluctant to voyage into that frightening world in the first place – vlogging, not fondant flowers.  Video is a completely truthful and unforgiving format.  Pajamas and unshaved legs, as well as sleep-deprived dark circles under the eyes are going to show up as exactly that.  My hormones have reduced me into a hairy sasquatch of a being, running around in capri sweat pants and one of my husband’s big, comfy button-down shirts.  There is really no vlogging potential in my appearance, today, regardless of the miracles of editing.  It’s not pretty, and thus, I spare you and posterity.  No worries, however.  I have a great recipe to share, in a couple of days which requires this easy sourdough starter as its leavening.  A few snapshots and you’ll have it down, with no trouble.  This I can do, today.    Go ahead and whip this up along with me and we’ll bake some of the softest, yummiest rolls you can imagine, later this week.

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Here’s what I did:

1. Put the warm water in a 3 or 4 quart glass container.  It needs to be that deep, so as your starter grows, it has room to expand.  I used my Pampered Chef 4 quart batter bowl.  It has a lid that snaps on when I get ready to store this in the fridge.
   

   Four simple ingredients to create your sourdough starter.

    

2. Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water.  Just stir a little until they both dissolve and are incorporated.
   

   Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water.

    

3. Add the flour and stir until the batter is smooth.
   

   Stir in the flour.

    

4. Cover with a clean dish towel and set it up in a warm corner of your kitchen for 2 or 3 days.  (It is certainly possible, depending on the temperature in your kitchen, that your starter may take an extra day or two.)
   

   Finished sour dough starter. Cover this and let it set in your warm kitchen for a few days. It's definitely the beginning of something amazing!!!

    

5. You’re growing a living organism and alcohol is going to form and separate from the mixture.  Once a day, you’ll just need to stir that back in.
6. After 2 or 3 days, you will notice the mixture has stopped bubbling and has developed a sour smell.  At that point , give it one last stir and then snap a lid on your container or transfer your starter to a glass container that does have a lid.  Store it in the refrigerator.

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Keeping Your Starter Alive

Like every healthy, growing organism, your starter needs to be fed to keep growing and provide you with ongoing leavening for your favorite baked goods.  Feeding your starter is a simple process.  For every cup of starter you remove, for a recipe, you will need to add back:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of water

Just stir them into your starter, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it set out in your warm kitchen overnight.  Then snap the lid back on and store it in the fridge.

If it has been two weeks and you haven’t used any of your starter, it’s still going to be hungry and need some nourishment.  So, if after two weeks, you haven’t baked with it, remove one cup of the starter and feed it, as described above.

This process will keep you continuously supplied with fantastic, tangy starter to use as leavening in your favorite baked goods.  Stay tuned for that fantastic roll recipe.  You’re going to be so glad you made this starter.

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This recipe is linked to Grocery Cart Challenge and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.