Take gallon crock or cookie jar and put in:

2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. yeast (use Maca dry yeast or Fleischmann's dry yeast)
2 c. lukewarm water

Stir until mixture is a smooth thin paste. Put on a lid and set in a warm place to sour. Stir several times a day. In two or three days your sourdough will be ready. If you are out in "the woods" and have no yeast, add 4 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to the starter and it will sour the same, only it takes about five days longer.

The night before you want to make hot cakes, add 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 2 cups water, enough to make a thick paste; as it works overnight it will thin down. In the morning, pour out into a bowl enough dough for your hot cakes, leaving a cupful or a little more in the sour dough pot. Set the pot away until you want to use it again.

To your hot cake dough add 2 level tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons melted shortening or bacon grease; one egg can be added if desired. Mix well and add 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in a tablespoon of water. Fold in soda gently and don't stir after the soda has been added. Your hot cakes are ready to be baked on a hot griddle.

If you hot cakes are tough, use less sugar next time.