I know this thread is very old, but it's one of the only really relevant links to come up when you google this. After never finding a satisfactory answer, I just tried it in my indoor plastic tote worm bin (made from 2 nested 10 gallon totes from Lowes http://www.lowes.com/pd_332449-61896-332449_1z0yly3__?productId=3276019&pl=1), and the worms adore sourdough starter. At first I thought something was wrong because every worm in the bin ended up in a giant, writhing mass where the starter was put down, but it turns out they were just super excited to eat it. It gets kind of hot, though, so be careful with quantity if the temp where you keep your worms is high. You'll see more condensation in the bin with the starter in there. I've put down up to 1/4 cup with no bad consequences to my bin. I don't know about larger quantities--I would guess it depends on the size of your bin and worm population. I had no problems with odor generally, but there can be a funk for a while if you uncover just the area where the starter is--probably because it can cause a wet, sludgy spot. I've since started to take out some older bedding and mix it into the starter before putting it down. The worms seem to prefer to eat the castings/organic matter/bedding that has soaked up the starter rather than eat the starter itself anyway, and it helps me control moisture better. If I notice that the spot with the starter is getting compacted and funky, I fluff it, and it seems to nip the problem in the bud. Anyway, I'm sure this is no help to the original poster anymore, but maybe this will help the next person who Googles for the answer to whether it's OK to feed sourdough starter to the worm bin.

Please REREAD my original post.It was never meant to be condecending or belittle anyone who eats or makes white bread.That being said you did nothing in the way of offering help to someone who was asking about whole grain baking.Its great that you can bake by feel and make ajustments based on your experience.Where does that leave someone who is a novice and needs help? How many recipes from our mothers and grandmothers have been lost forever because they did it by feel and no one ever bothered to measure the ingredients or jot down baseline instuctions, so future generations would have a starting point and be able to enjoy a heritage dish.Everything we create in life has to have a recipe or starting point from which to go;it either being in your head or from a book.I have 30+ bread books and good or bad they all provide a basis on which to start.Reinhart's book on whole grain baking is one of the better on that topic,in my humble opinion,and has taught me a great deal and that was the only reason I chose to answer the question.It was certainly not to get in a battle of words with someone who completely misinterpreted my remarks.

All you REALLY need to make a starter is flour and water - everything after that is just a choice. Grapes are just another source for yeast (often called "wild" yeast, but they are just plain old yeast that covers everything and is present everywhere), as well as some additional carbohydrates from the fruit itself to feed the yeast. BUT, there are more than enough carbohydrates in flour to feed yeast. When you look at grapes, you see that silvery/gray sheen on them - that's yeast. Cabbage leaves are also used occasionally in a beginning starter, and you can see the yeast as a slightly gray substance inside the leaves. Onions, the same thing. There are raw potato starters, cooked potato starters, peach leaf starter (once again, the yeast found on the leaves from a peach tree are another source of yeast).... Try all kinds of starters until you find one you like - that's the big adventure. The one I used for many years was called "Everlasting Yeast", and was popular just over 100-years ago. And while you're at it, be sure to order a free starter from Carl Griffith's Oregon Trail Sourdough. http://carlsfriends.net/source.html If you would rather not have the care and feeding of a starter (they are called "pets" for a reason ;-), but still make naturally-leavened breads, you can purchase an envelope (the size of a package of yeast) of Lalvain du Jour Starters from King Arthur Flour, and it's enough yeast to make several batches of starter and loaves of bread, and is a good way to experience it, or for the occasional bread baker - without the commitment. FYI -You will get more yeast if you use a wholegrain flour in the beginning because there are all kinds of yeast covering the outside of whole grains, but processed bleached and unbleached flour also have yeast present (although not as much since the bran was removed) and will work just fine. The sooner you get a good colony of yeast growing, the faster it will make good bread. -You will get a starter faster if you use rye flour (for at least a portion of the flour) because it ferments quicker. Spelt flour is great because it's high in carbohydrates. You can change to any kind of flour at any time. As you can see, "starter" isn't just one thing, one mixture or method. In fact, you can use "old dough" (a bit of dough leftover from making bread) to make a culture, as just one more method. If you stop to think about it, naturally-leavened breads have been made much longer than those made with modern baker's yeast (dry baker's yeast wasn't available until WWII, and before that they used fresh yeast). In the deep south, pre-air conditioning, they made a lot more quick breads, like biscuits, because of extreme heat and humidity playing havoc with starters. I'm going to assume you have climate control indoors and aren't experiencing 100-degree temperatures with 85% humidity indoors. You will want to keep the sponge between 70-90-degrees F. At cooler temperatures (65-degrees and cooler), the sponge...

@andersons21 - I only saw your reply now - sorry about that. Yes - by "put in water" I just fill the reservoir. (I don't have the plumbed in version of the oven.) I don't do it before preheating because somewhere in the Miele manual it mentioned that the oven works best with cold water. So I always add water at the last moment. Maybe they just meant not to use water that was sitting in your hot water heater. I have no idea. The manual is vague in many places. And yes on MaxiBroil -- the baking steel does reach a higher temp, and the oven spring is better. I use it for both pre-heating and the first cooking stage. When I've pointed an IR thermometer at the baking steel after preheating, it's something like 480-490F. I forget the exact figure, but it's significantly above 435F. I wish it got hotter too, but the interior of the oven is made very differently than a regular oven, so I suspect that's probably why it's limited. The same thing happens in the regular Miele oven (not steam) - the high broil settings let the baking steel reach significantly higher temps (~650F) than the highest setting on the oven (which I think is 575F). I have both ovens btw - and use the steel in the regular oven for pizza.