Instructions

1. Remove the sourdough starter from the refrigerator between 4 and 12 hours before you plan on beginning the bread recipe so that you can feed it. Feeding will activate the starter, encouraging the yeast to begin producing the carbon dioxide needed to help your bread rise.

2. Discard 1 cup of starter, and pour the rest into a bowl. The starter you discard can be thrown away, used in a quick-bread recipe that doesn't require a fed starter, or given to a friend who needs a sourdough starter.

3. Add 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of lukewarm water to the starter. If your tap water is treated with chlorine, you'll need to either use bottled water or let your tap water sit uncovered for 24 hours before using it, so that the chlorine evaporates. Chlorine can stop the yeast from fermenting, which means your bread won't rise.

4. Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 4 to 12 hours. The starter will bubble as the yeast begins to work.

5. Combine the amount of fed sourdough your recipe requires with the other ingredients, and follow the recipe to make the bread.

   If you are adapting a conventional yeast-leavened recipe, replace 1 tbsp. of yeast with 1 cup of sourdough, and reduce the flour and water in the recipe by 3/4 and 1/2 cup, respectively.

6. Replace the sourdough removed from the starter with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. Stir to combine, and let sit, covered, at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours hours. Replace the starter in its container and refrigerate until ready to use again.