Q. I purchased a sourdough (sour dough) bread starter that is accustomed to white flour but I’d like to use whole wheat flour.  How do I switch the sourdough bread starter over to whole wheat flour?

A. All of our 17 sourdough bread starters can be converted to be used with a wide variety of flours.  We recommend that you get the sourdough (sour dough) starter going initially with whatever type of flour it is accustomed to (generally white, wheat or rye flour).  Once the sourdough starter is clearly healthy (bubbling happily), split the sourdough starter in two and put half in a safe place in the refridgerator.  Start feeding the second half with the new flour.  Within a few days/feedings, the sourdough (sour dough) starter will be fully converted.  This method of splitting the sourdough (sour dough) starter allows you to convert the sourdough bread starter over to a new flour type but also gives you a back up as there can be a learning curve when working with new flour types.