Sourdough Day 3: The People Have Spoken — Meet Willynilly!

Sourdough Day 3 is here and we have a name! I asked my community to help me name our little sourdough starter, and the people have spoken — his name is Willynilly. I mean, could it be more perfect? If you are wondering where the name came from, you are going to want to go back and watch Day 1. It will all make sense, I promise. Today was a busy Saturday with lots of family things going on, so we are getting to our feeding a little later than usual — but Willynilly does not mind. He has bubbles, he has a name, and he is ready to grow.

There are lots of little bubbles going on in the jar today, which is a great sign that fermentation is starting to happen. Things are also starting to smell a little janky — and yes, that is completely normal at this stage. It just means Willynilly is alive and doing his thing.

Today’s feeding: I discarded 60 grams of starter, then fed Willynilly with 60 grams of whole wheat flour and 60 grams of lukewarm water, keeping the ratio at 1:1:1. One very important note — do NOT pour your sourdough discard down the drain. It will turn to cement in your pipes. Toss it in the trash instead!

On the flour question: I am sticking with whole wheat flour for this entire journey. My husband Jason is on a Mediterranean diet, so whole wheat is the right choice for our family. The good news is that when it comes time to bake, I can use Willynilly to make either a wheat or a white product — so the options are still open.

After feeding I stirred everything back to that thick, consistent texture from Day 1, wiped the rim of the jar to keep it clean, and put Willynilly away until tomorrow. It’s Willynilly — and I’m Willynilly — so we are not going to stress about being perfectly precise. We just keep showing up. See you on Day 4!

More From the Sourdough Journey

• Sourdough Starter Maintenance — Feed and Fridge — How I keep a starter alive and happy with a busy family schedule.
• Day 21 — Goodbye Willy & Nilly, Hello Free Willy 2 — The dramatic turn Willynilly’s story eventually takes.
• Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe — The loaf this whole journey is building toward, with a full printable recipe card.

🌱 New to sourdough? Start with my Sourdough for Beginners guide — how to make a starter from scratch and bake your first loaf.

Sourdough Day 3 — About the Sourdough Journey

The Sourdough Journey is Stephanie’s series documenting her very first attempt at making sourdough bread from scratch — something she had never done before. She started this journey to make fresh homemade bread for her husband Jason, who is on a Mediterranean diet. Along the way her community helped name her whole wheat starter “Willynilly” — and together they cheered him on toward his first bake. What started as one starter became two, then took a dramatic turn — and now a whole new chapter of baking is underway. Start here at Day 1 and follow the whole story at stephaniecooksforacrowd.com!