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The Jack does indeed play a part. It gives you something to do while waiting for the bulk fermentation to finish...Yea, Id love to try my hand at it honestly. Its intriguing at least. Does that lovely bottle of Jack have a roll in it as well...if so Im definitely in.
For the starter you'll need two quart-sized mason jars. You can get by with one, but I like starting with a clean jar each time I feed the culture.
It will take at least a week before the starter is robust enough to make bread, but once it's at that stage it will just keep getting better over time.
Yeast occurs naturally on wheat kernels as they grow, and persist after harvest. Yeast is a fungus, and the spores are quite robust. That is what you'll be cultivating. Additionally, the starter will be a host to some bacteria that (among other things) create lactic and acetic acids, which give the bread it's flavor. Depending on where you live, your starter will foster specific strains that ostensibly will impart a slightly different flavor. I.E. San Francisco sourdough gets its signature flavor from bacteria that are dominant only in that part of the world.
Here's how to make starter: (Note: Do not seal the jars completely. My formula is tighten, then back off 1/4 turn. If the CO2 can't escape, the jar might explode. Nobody wants that.)
Day 1: In a clean jar, add 75 grams each of flour and water. Mix well.
Day 2: In the same jar, add another 75 grams each of flour and water. Mix well.
Day 3+: In a clean jar, add 150 grams of starter, and 75 grams each of flour and water. Mix well. Discard the remaining starter.
Keep doing this and after a few days you'll start seeing the flour/water mixture rise up to almost the top of the jar. If you are worried it might spill over, put the jar in a bowl or something to catch any overflow.
After the starter collapses back down, it's done eating (more specifically, it's out of readily convertable starches).
"Do I really need to throw away half of my starter every day?" Technically, no. However, I make no guarantees that the starter won't ultimately become sentient and force you out of your home.
Maintenance:
If kept at room temperature, feed every day (the process in Day 3+ above). If you are going to make bread every few days, this is probably the best approach.
If kept refrigerated, you can get away with feeding it every two weeks. After a feeding, keep it at room temperature until it collapsed down a bit before putting back in the fridge)
Long term storage: Spread some starter in a thin layer on some parchment paper and leave to dry completely. Break it up and seal it in a jar. This will be viable for thousands of years. I have some samples of sourdough from Giza. Reportedly the same strain used to make the first leavened bread in history.
I am trying something with today's loaf that might mean a permanent change to my bread recipe. Once I know how it turns out, if it's any better than the one I have been using, I'll tag you with the update. For now, here is what I use:
Add to a large bowl, and in this order:
100g starter
250g water (or 250ml, yay metric system!)
8g kosher salt (avoid iodized salt)
mix well
394g bread flour (when you get familiar with the process, you adjust the hydration of your dough by changing the amount of flour. For now, this works just fine)
Mix this well. It will be a shaggy mess. Just make sure you get all the flour integrated. Maybe 5 minutes or so of mixing and you're done.
Cover and let it sit for 4 hours.
Every hour, and with wet hands, you want to stretch and fold the dough to keep the yeast well distributed, and to help build some gluten structure. That process and pretty much the rest of what you'll need to do are well documented in this video. Also it is here where I got my recipe:
