The next stage is to get that sourdough taste. To do this simply add enough flour to the mix to make it similar to mud in consistency. Now leave the mix, still covered with a cloth somewhere warm in your home.

Here you will have to experiment a bit: I like my bread heavily flavoured, so I leave it for 8 hours (which is also equivalent to a working day...). I would suggest starting off waiting for 4 hours initially and leaving it for longer or shorter periods depending on taste.

Another factor, by the way, is the type of culture. Cultures from some parts of the world seem to become more strongly flavoured than others. The South African culture from Sourdoughs International has the potential to be a strongly flavoured one, for example.

Now something very important: before adding anything else to your flour and water mix, get a clean - preferably glass - container with a loose lid (not airtight) and pour in 3 cups of water, add one cup of flour and stir. Then take 1 cup of your mixture from the bowl and pour it into the container. Mix and put into the fridge.

Note: do NOT freeze.

You now have the starter for the next loaf. That starter can stay there happily for three to four weeks in the fridge, but obviously the longer it stays there the longer it will take to get active again - 6 weeks could well be considered the absolute maximum, after which you may need to begin the process of collecting the yeast all over again, or at least you will need to spend some time bringing it back to life.

Each time I want to make a loaf I make a mix of water and flour to that mud-like consistency in my bowl and add the starter from the fridge. This is left, in my case for 8 hours in a warm place, to both wake up the yeast from the dormancy state in the fridge, and to create the sourness that gives the bread it's flavour.