Day One: In one of the clean jars, stir together the whole wheat flour with 1/4 cup of filtered water. It will be very thick and hard to stir when you first start but will loosen up as you are combining the two.
Cover the top of the jar with paper towel instead of a lid to allow for air circulation. Wrap the elastic band around the jar at the line where the starter ends. This will help you know when the rise is happening in your starter. Place the jar in a warm (70-80°F or 21-27°C), dry place for 24 hours.
Day Two: Once the 24 hours has passed, check the jar to see if the mixture has started bubbling. If it hasn’t, stir the contents and replace the paper towel and leave it for another 24 hours before feeding.
If you do see bubbles, add 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup filtered water. Stir and replace the paper towel lid. Adjust your elastic band to reflect the addition of the flour. Keep in a warm spot for 24 hours. It may or may not rise at this point but will be very bubbly.
Day Three: After 24 hours, the mixture should have bubbles. Remove 2 tablespoons of the starter and put in the clean jar. Add 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup filtered water to what is remaining in the jar. Stir and replace the paper towel lid. Keep in a warm spot for 24 hours.
Day Four, Five, Six: On day 4, 5 and 6, you will follow the same process and start feeding your starter 2 times a day (every 12 hours). Remove 2 tablespoons to a clean jar and add 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup filtered water to the starter.
Stir and replace your paper towel lid. Do this twice a day making sure at least 8 hours has passed since the previous feeding and the starter has fallen from the previous feeding. At this point the starter will be actively bubbling and will almost double in size after every feeding.
At this point, your starter is ready to use. If you don’t need it right away, simply cover and place in the fridge and feed it approximately once a week. When you are ready to use it, remove it from the fridge 24-48 hours in advance, allow it to warm up to room temperature and feed it a few times to activate it.
