I am making a starter for the third time - third time's the charm I hope! I am yet to master the skills and art of the sourdough, especially as researching this process brings up a lot of passionate sourdough bread makers who have conflicting theories on what has gone wrong with my mess... none the less I will preserver! I find recipes put out by manufacturers tend to be more reliable as they have a commercial imperative and an in depth knowledge of a particular product motivating them - so I am hoping this site will help! My little hint is to do with water. When you get it from the tap - smell it, you will be able to smell the chlorine. Leave it overnight, then smell it again,when it has no smell at all, that is when you know the chlorine has all evaporated. Also the bigger the surface area of the bowl/jug of water the quicker it evaporates, so if in a wide bowl it will evaporate quickly, if in a tall narrow jug it will take longer. Remember the nose knows! Maybe I have been giving up too soon on previous batches of starter in the past???? They do not seem to want to froth much, they have never doubled in size, maybe only gained 10% volume, in a temperature controlled environment.

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