A good yeast starter primer

[Beer-lord]

Here's a pretty good article about making yeast starters.
It's pretty much how I do it, directly in the flask (with burning your hands Steve).

[mashani]

That's how I do it, except I wrap the top of the flask with a square of foil that drops down a couple inches below the rim over the neck before I boil it. That sanitizes the foil as well as the flask. Then once cooled, I simply pop off the foil "cap", dump in the yeast, and put the foil "cap" back on. No stopper or airlock needed, the foil over the rim keeps bugs out just fine. (beer bugs can't crawl up, they can only fall down).

With an electric stove you need to boil the flask in a water bath, IE "double burner" to avoid shattering it. Also if you don't have a lab grade flask, then that's also a good idea. But a lab grade flask is safe on a gas stove top.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Gee thanks Paul!!! Last nite I did the starter basically identical to what you do Mashani, had a little too much water for the double boiler in the pot though, got brave since I bought a pair silicone oven mitts and put half the bottom of the flask on the ceramic burner area. Had a nice gentle boil and the foil was sprayed with starsan first then draped over the opening of the flask.