Dough-na-tella came to life a few days ago, just a humble mix of flour and water. Since then, I’ve been obsessively checking for signs of life—bubbles, a slight rise, and that tangy, yeasty aroma. And let me tell you, she’s got personality!

For this first feeding, I removed half of her to make room for fresh flour and water. The math part wasn’t as intimidating as I thought: equal weights of flour and water to keep her balanced and happy. I opted for a mix of unbleached all-purpose flour and filtered water, as every single video I watched on this has stated to use filtered water.

After gently mixing everything together, I placed her back in her cozy jar and set her in a warm spot beside my fire place overnight. She responded wonderfully to her meal and is finally ready to bake with in the morning!

For my first time using her I made sourdough pancakes, I got the recipe from a friend who shares a love of sourdough. The Best Sourdough Pancakes I highly recommend them! They were divine! My family devoured them.

This process feels so much like nurturing a tiny, doughy pet—it’s oddly therapeutic. I’m already daydreaming about the breads, pizzas, and maybe even cinnamon rolls that Dough-na-tella will help me create.

Stay tuned for updates from this sourdough adventure. Next up: testing her strength for the first bake of bread! 🥖

Do you have any tips for keeping a sourdough starter thriving? Let me know—I’m all ears (and flour)!

Now that she is alive, I find it hard to put her to sleep in the fridge. Will she be ok?? Send me some tips on how to do this process well, so I can kick-start her for her next bake.

(edited with the help of my personally assistant “Chatty” AKA Chatgpt, love her)