Pour water into a 3-4 quart bowl* (the bowl needs to be large so that the starter has room to grow. It will expand a lot.). Add sugar or honey. Stir to dissolve. Add yeast and stir. Gradually stir in flour until smooth. Cover with a clean dishtowel** and set aside in a warm area of the kitchen.***
Let sit for 2-5 days, stirring once a day because the alcohol will separate from the batter. Once the bubbling has subsided and a sour aroma has developed stir one more time then transfer to a large sealable container and store in the fridge. The batter should be similar to pancake batter (mine was a lot thinner but once I fed it later on it thickened up again).
Tips:
*a ceramic or glass bowl is best, but I used a plastic bowl with no problems.
**using a dishtowel instead of plastic wrap helps you to catch wild yeast which improves flavour.
***I was a little worried because it was really cold in my kitchen when I made my starter, but it turned out fine.
Maintaining the Starter
You can use the starter as often as you like in baking but if you don't bake with it within two weeks you'll want to remove one cup and discard it.
For every one cup of starter removed stir in:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
Let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours before returning to the fridge so that the yeast has time to activate and multiply before it's chilled again.
Tips:
If you forget to feed it after two weeks don't worry. Give it a good feeding and let sit out to warm up. If it bubbles your good to go. If you forget about it for months you can still try to revive it by giving it a good feeding and it's probably best to give it two feeding in a row.
Make sure to stir your starter before baking or removing some for feeding.
The alcohol on top may become very dark. That's ok.