Sourdough Day 9: Willynilly Gets a New Home! 🍞
Sourdough Day 9 is here and Willynilly is moving up in the world — literally. Today we gave him a fresh start in a clean jar, and things are looking really good.
We transferred 30 grams of starter to a new jar and kept our 1:2:2 ratio going — feeding him 60 grams of flour and 60 grams of water. Watch the video and you can literally see my brain straining to do the math. Willynilly and I have an understanding — we are not too concerned with being overly precise. And apparently it’s working!
If you’re new to sourdough starter ratios, the 1:2:2 method simply means for every 1 part starter you feed 2 parts flour and 2 parts water. So 30 grams of starter gets 60 grams of flour and 60 grams of water. It keeps the starter well fed and happy without wasting too much flour. Willynilly seems to approve.
The best news from Day 9? Willynilly is nice and bubbly, doubling in size beautifully, AND less stinky today. If you’ve been following along you know the stink is actually a good sign early on — it means the wild yeast is active and fermenting. But less stink now means he is maturing and getting closer to being ready to bake with. We are getting so excited!
If you’re just joining our sourdough starter journey, welcome! We started from scratch with whole wheat flour and have been feeding and nurturing Willynilly every day. It has been equal parts exciting, educational, and hilarious. Jason is on a Mediterranean diet and I wanted to make him fresh homemade bread — and Willynilly is almost ready to make that happen. See you on Day 10! 🍞
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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Every Saturday morning I send a printable meal plan and full grocery list — the whole week, formatted for the fridge and the grocery run — plus new recipes and whatever’s happening at the Longstreth house. Drop your email below and I’ll save you a seat.
🌱 New to sourdough? Start with my Sourdough for Beginners guide — how to make a starter from scratch and bake your first loaf.
🍞 Continue the Sourdough Journey
⬅️ Day 8 | The Hearth | Day 10 ➡️
🛒 Starting your own sourdough journey? Find all of Stephanie’s favorite supplies in The Sourdough Pantry!
Sourdough Day 9 — 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!