Free Willy 2 Prep Day — Whole Wheat Sourdough From Feed to Fridge

Free Willy 2 prep day is here — and we are going from feed to fridge in one video, start to finish. If you have been following this sourdough journey, you know Free Willy 2 is my whole wheat starter. I keep him alive for my husband Jason, who is on a Mediterranean diet and needs a whole wheat loaf that actually tastes like something. Free Willy 2 has been resting in the fridge for a week, so today we are feeding him, watching him peak, mixing the dough, doing our six stretch and folds, shaping the loaf, and tucking him into the fridge overnight for a slow cold proof. Tomorrow, we bake.

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Feed Day for Free Willy 2

Here is what we do on feed day. I pull Free Willy 2 out of the fridge, clean his jar, and keep 100 grams of starter. Then I add 210 grams of water and 200 grams of King Arthur 100% Whole Wheat Flour. A quick note on the water — I go slightly higher on water for whole wheat because it just needs a little extra moisture. Whole wheat flour is thirstier than bread flour. Then I give him a good stir with my Skinny Spurtle , and set him in his freshly cleaned Weck Tulip Sourdough Jar  to do his thing on the counter.

Five Hours to Peak

Free Willy 2 took about five hours to get to his peak this time. I fed him in the morning, left to go pick the kids up from school, and came back to find him all the way up at the top of the jar. Beautiful big bubbles all the way through. That is exactly what I want to see — a starter that is fully active and ready to bake with.

Building the Dough

Once Free Willy 2 hit his peak, it was time to build the dough. I used 100 grams of my active starter, 500 grams of whole wheat flour, and 350 grams of water. I like to blend the starter with the water first — it just helps everything incorporate better when you add the flour. Then I mix it all together and let the shaggy dough rest for 40 minutes. After that, I add 25 more grams of water and 10 grams of salt, and work all of that into the dough. Then it rests another 30 minutes before we start our stretch and folds.

Six Stretch and Folds

We do six rounds of stretch and folds, spaced out as the dough rests. Wet hands are a game changer here — the dough is much easier to handle when your hand is wet. You just lift up one corner, pull it over, rotate the bowl, and repeat. By the last round, the dough has gotten increasingly stretchy and feels alive in your hands. If you want a deeper dive into what stretch and folds do for your dough, King Arthur Baking’s sourdough guide goes deep on the science of folding and fermentation.

Shaping and Into the Fridge

After the last fold, I pour the dough out onto a rice-floured surface and let it rest on the counter for about 20 minutes. Then it is time to shape the loaf. I gently stretch the dough out, roll it over, pinch the seams together, and bring the ends in and pinch those too. It is so soft and fun to work with at this stage. The finished loaf goes seam side down into my loaf pan — either a greased pan or lined with Katbite Parchment Paper  works great. I cover it with plastic and tuck it into the fridge overnight for a slow cold proof. And tomorrow? We bake.

More From the Sourdough Journey

• Free Willy 2’s First Bake — Whole Wheat Sourdough Reveal — The milestone loaf this whole routine started with.
• Sourdough Starter Maintenance — Feed and Fridge — How I keep both starters alive and happy on the weeks we don’t bake.
• Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe — Jason’s loaf, written up as a full printable recipe card.

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Free Willy 2 Prep Day — About Stephanie’s Sourdough Journey

This post is part of Stephanie’s Sourdough Journey — an ongoing series following Pearl (Stephanie’s established all-purpose starter, a gift from her friend Sara) and Free Willy 2 (a whole wheat starter converting to support Jason’s Mediterranean diet). Two starters, one kitchen, endless learning. Start from the beginning at Sourdough Day 1.