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I have three different starters going in my fridge at a time. One is local, one is alaskan, and one I cannot recall the origin. I obtain mine from others- generally via a Freecycle or Craigs List posting. People are generally happy to share some of theirs for free.

Starting starter without obtaining it from another source has never been successful for me, but there's tons of info out there on the web about such things.

It is really pretty simple. Use a transparent container (a quart will do) so that you can see fermentation. Mix a dough using 60 % flour 40% water and o put in container. After 24 hours at room temp, discard half and add fresh flour and water in the same proportion (60/40). After a second 24 hours repeat. By day 4, you will see active fermentation (by the formation of bubbles). When you feed the starter on day 4 it should triple in bulk within 2 hours. That's it, you've made a "mother". At the end of day 4, take a walnut sized piece of the dough and add it to a new 60/40 dough and refrigerate overnight.

Now, make bread, and when you do make an extra lb of dough that you leave out overnight to become your new mother from which you can make a new starter. If you are not baking regularly, just keep your starter in the fridge and feed it (as above) once every ten days. You can safely freeze a starter (or a mother) for a month.

Chirskobler, or anyone who could know, I tried that method, and never got any bubbles. The liquid on top started to turn (turned a pinkish brown), and I threw it out on the 4th day. Any idea what went wrong, or what I should do instead?

Also, just to be thorough, we have a sourdough starter recipe as well, with some detailed instructions, linked to the sourdough loaf.

The Kitchn: Basic Sourdough Starter