Sourdough Day 20: Tomorrow Will Tell

Sourdough Day 20 and I have to be honest with you — we are in uncertain territory. Willy and Nilly have had a rough couple of days, and today was no exception. It turns out that keeping them in the oven with the light on was making them way too hot — I never would have guessed that little bulb put out that much heat, but apparently it does. So we pulled them out, regrouped, and Jason ordered the sweetest surprise: two counter warmers set to a steady 80 degrees. We are doing everything we can to give these two the best possible chance overnight. Tomorrow will tell.

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Here is where things stand on Day 20. Very few bubbles, still an acetone smell — worse for Nilly than for Willy, interestingly enough. I took them both back to 40 grams of starter and fed them 120 grams of flour and 120 grams of water, keeping the 1:3:3 ratio. I am still giving Willy whole wheat flour to try to encourage more active yeast in there.

And then there is the temperature situation. The oven with the light on sounded like such a good idea — warm, consistent, protected. But it was running too hot and that is not good for a sourdough starter. Too cold stunts them. Too hot can kill them. We needed something in between, and that is exactly what Jason found.

He ordered two of these sourdough starter warmers  — one for Willy and one for Nilly — and we have them set to 80 degrees right on the counter. Consistent warmth, no guessing, no oven light drama. I am genuinely hopeful that this is the missing piece.

I will also confess something: I did not get them fed this morning at 8 the way I was supposed to. They have been on an every 12 hour feeding schedule and today ended up being closer to 24 hours. That could absolutely be a factor too. I am starting to keep detailed notes so I can track exactly what I am doing from day to day — what I am feeding them, where they are living, what the temperature is. It feels a little bit like having newborns again with feeding schedules and everything. Except newborns are cuter. Debatable, maybe.

So here we are. Sourdough Day 20. Willy is on his warmer. Nilly is on hers. They both have fresh food and a good warm place to rest. There is still a good yeasty smell coming from Willy which gives me hope. We are crossing our fingers, saying our prayers, and we will see what tomorrow brings. I truly believe we have not lost them. But tomorrow will tell. See you on Day 21!

More From the Sourdough Journey

• Sourdough Starter Maintenance — Feed and Fridge — How I keep a starter alive and happy with a busy family schedule.
• New Sourdough Starter — Meet the Feisty Gift From a Friend — The bright new chapter waiting on the other side of this cliffhanger.
• Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe — The loaf this whole journey is building toward, with a full printable recipe card.

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Sourdough Day 20 — About the Sourdough Journey

The Sourdough Journey is Stephanie’s series documenting her very first attempt at making sourdough bread from scratch. What started as one whole wheat starter named Willynilly became two — Willy and Nilly — before the journey took a dramatic turn. Now a whole new chapter of baking is underway with Pearl and Free Willy 2. Start at Day 1 and follow the whole story at stephaniecooksforacrowd.com!