Sourdough Day 5: No Pink, No Orange, No Problem

Sourdough Day 5 is here and the first thing I checked was the color — no pink, no orange, which means no mold and no contamination. We are good to go! The nail polish remover smell has officially arrived though, and honestly? She was not lying about that one. That strong smell is totally normal at this stage and just means Willynilly is hungry and ready to eat. Day 5 is looking good, y’all.

Here is a little peek at my sourdough setup on the counter — a small sourdough basket holding my scale, my water, my flour, and Willynilly. Simple and organized, which is exactly what you need when you are doing this every single day.

Today’s feeding: I discarded 120 grams of starter, leaving 60 grams behind, then fed Willynilly with 60 grams of whole wheat flour and 60 grams of water, keeping the ratio at 1:1:1. If you are wondering what that looks like in regular measurements, 60 grams of flour is roughly half a cup — but I am sticking with my scale and grams because it is the most accurate and efficient way to go, at least for now.

After feeding, I stirred everything together until it was back to that thick, pasty consistency, wiped down the edges of the jar, and put Willynilly back in the basket until tomorrow. That is sourdough Day 5, y’all.

I do not know about you, but Willynilly and I are both pretty proud of us. Day 6 is coming!

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.

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

Sourdough Day 5 — 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!