Three

By this evening, the mother was growing. It was in fact 50% bigger than when I did last take a peek. And as suggested by the book, it had a foul odor. The Bread Baker's Apprentice assures me that this smell will sweeten with time. I hope so. Boy, do I hope so. It was rank.

You can see here the bubbles forming by the natural wild yeasts. Pretty cool.




Here are day three directions.

Split the dough in half.
Discard half, or give it to a friend. (This I will because I know of a friend who wants to start her own sourdough.)
Mix in one cup bread flour, and 1/2 cup water.
Stir until incorporated. Push down back to day 2 level.

Let sit for 24 hours.