A living culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria maintained in a flour-and-water mixture -- the engine that leavens and flavors your bread.
Making a starter is simple: mix flour and water, feed daily, and wait 1-3 weeks for wild microorganisms (already present on the flour) to establish a stable colony. The resulting culture will leaven bread for the rest of your life if you keep it fed. Use whole-grain flour to start (more microbial diversity) and non-chlorinated water. Your starter is remarkably resilient -- it's almost impossible to kill. Even neglected starters can be revived with a few feedings.
