Starting Sourdough Starter

I have a love-hate relationship with sourdough starter.  I love sourdough bread!   I hate it when I neglect my starter and it dies.  

I killed my last starter about six month ago, and just went without it all summer.  It's been a long time since that tangy bread has been around and I was missing it. It was time.

This morning I started another batch.  I just use a simple recipe.  Mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water in a half-gallon mason jar.  I did add a wee bit of yeast this time around, to help it get off to a good start. 

You are supposed to avoid metal lids with sourdough starter. The starter can react with this material.  Since I don't yet have any plastic lids for my jars, I used a napkin held on with a jar ring.  I can easily swap out the rings if any starter gets on them, and give them a good wash.  In the past I've used cheesecloth with a rubber band.  I might switch back to that.  We'll see.

Now before I make the bread I've been missing (and pancakes...yum!) I need to feed this daily for five days.  Then it'll be ripe and ready to roll--I mean rise.  Hopefully I'll manage to keep this one alive for a while. 

Have you been successful with sourdough starters?  Any tips or recipes you'd like to share would be greatly appreciated.