I also got some given to me, one of the office staff made the bread every single day for months, I think. She kept adding different fruit to make it "different", LOL. She gave me some starter, I politely took it and just threw it away. When she asked how it went, I told her I had forgotten it on the counter and it died. She promptly offered me more, which I turned down, reminding her that she was baking it all the time and bringing it in, I didn't have to bake any. (grin) A couple of weeks later she stopped baking it and said she got so tired of it she threw it away and that she had about 20 loaves in the freezer. So, I know you can freeze the bread after it's baked and I don't see why you couldn't just make half of the starter, it's all the same proportions and it'll start fermenting. Annie

No, I didn't name him Hermann - the German version was named Hermann.....called Herman over here. Folks either like to do this sort of baking or they run when they see you coming with a jar of the stuff! My mom really liked the date bread, so I'll be baking more for her to give as gifts. You can freeze the starter after it is going good, then bake when you feel like it. I don't find it too hard to stir and feed it - as long as I don't have to go out of town. Teresa

buehl - The link below is a recipe for "Gluten Free Sourdough Bread" I've had in my "Need To Make" notebook since 3/7/2007 (I'll never live long enough to make everything in that darn thing at this rate...;-). It's a bit odd with the additions of kefir or kefir whey and kimbucha, but those are common ingredients around my house. I always have homemade kefir (made with real kefir grains) and I make kombucha during hot weather - I like it as a refreshing beverage, so I'm sure that was what caught my eye about the recipe. You can also make rice flour starter - it's simple. You can use white or brown rice and mill it into flour yourself in a coffee/spice mill (Fresh-Is-Best) if you don't have a grain mill. If you Google - rice sourdough starter - you will find lots of instructions and recipes. Rice flour starter is similar to making starter with wheat flour and water. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

My husband and I married 4 years ago. He had two children fulltime whose mother sees them a few times a year under supervision (she has psychosis and bi-polar and cycles in and out of hospitals). I have three children fulltime whose whose deadbeat father went to jail because he was about $80K behind in child support. His parental rights were suspended (he's alcoholic) and he could have gotten them back, but never bothered. Back when my ex was still interested in visitation, he played all those visitation games. This is how we solved them: We had the pick ups and drop offs in the lobby of the local sheriff substation. That way it was documented exactly when I arrived and when he arrived. I stayed 20 minutes past the court ordered time, and if he wasn't there by then, we left. He couldn't say I was late or withholding the children (which he tried) because the dispatcher logged us in when we got there and noted either what time I left or what time he showed up. The problems vanished. No more games with time changes. No more snide remarks and ugly accusations. No more lingering. No more wondering how long I should wait, for someone who wasn't communicating and was trying to make me in the wrong. No more blaming. The process was over in a half hour at the most and we went on with our day. He stood the kids up several times, but that resulted in him not seeing the kids. He tried to blame me, but the judge was having none of it. Until our mediator suggested this, I didn't know it was possible. A LOT of parents do this. I once apologized for 'bothering' them. The dispatcher said, "We have to be here anyway, and it's better than us having to go out and intervene in a dispute." The process was this. We arrived. I went to the dispatch window. She gave me a pre printed business card of the duty officer of the day. On the back she wrote the time I arrived. When we left I went back to the window and she either wrote: "No show" or the time my ex showed up. When it was time for a drop off, I got another little card with the times I arrived and the kids got dropped off. If he were late, I had indisputable proof. The kids could wait in the car or the lobby. They liked the lobby because the police were so nice to them. After a year I had 100 little cards that showed how unreliable my ex was. The judge didn't buy his whining that it was my fault. If you care about your kids, you show up on time. Would something like this work for you?