Sourdough timeline & baking schedule
To plan a sourdough timeline, work backwards from when you want the loaf out of the oven — through proof, shape, bulk, mix and the starter feed. Tell the planner your bake time and it fills in every step with clock times you can print.
- Cooler kitchen? Times stretch automatically. Cold retard spans two days.
- Durations are sourced rules of thumb — read your dough, not just the clock.
Bake at 09:00 · overnight cold retard
- 10:401 day beforeFeed your starter
A ~1:5:5 feed peaks in about 5 h at 24 °C — time it to be ripe at mix.
- 15:101 day beforeAutolyse
Mix flour and water only; rest to hydrate the flour and start gluten.
- 15:401 day beforeMix
Add the ripe starter and salt. Mix to a shaggy, cohesive dough.
- 16:101 day beforeStretch & fold 1
Build strength; the dough should feel tighter each time.
- 16:551 day beforeStretch & fold 2
Build strength; the dough should feel tighter each time.
- 17:401 day beforeStretch & fold 3
Build strength; the dough should feel tighter each time.
- 18:251 day beforeStretch & fold 4
Build strength; the dough should feel tighter each time.
- 20:401 day beforeBulk fermentation ends
Look for ~30–50% rise, a domed, jiggly, bubbly dough.
- 20:401 day beforePre-shape & bench rest
Shape into loose rounds; rest to relax the gluten.
- 21:001 day beforeShape
Final shape with tension, into a floured banneton, seam up.
- 21:001 day beforeCold retard (fridge)
Into the fridge overnight — firms the dough and deepens flavour.
- 08:00Preheat the oven
Dutch oven inside, as hot as it goes — usually 230–250 °C.
- 09:00Score & bake
Score cold from the fridge; bake covered, then uncovered to colour.
- 09:45Loaf out — cool fully
Cool on a rack at least an hour before cutting.
How do you plan a sourdough bake-day schedule?
A sourdough schedule is really one long chain of “this has to happen before that”. The loaf can only bake once it has proofed; it can only proof once it is shaped; it can only be shaped after the bulk ferment; and none of it starts until your starter is ripe. Fix the one time you actually care about — when the bread comes out — and every other time follows.
Temperature moves everything
Fermentation is temperature-driven, so the same dough that needs about 7 hours of bulk at a cool 20 °C might need only about 3½ at a warm 28 °C. The planner scales the fermentation stages for the kitchen temperature you enter, roughly halving them for every 8 °C warmer. The fixed steps — shaping, preheating, baking — stay put.
Same day or overnight
Turn cold retard off for a same-day bake: feed in the early morning and the loaf is out by evening. Turn it on to spread the work across two days — shape in the evening, rest the dough in the fridge overnight, then score and bake it cold in the morning for easier handling and deeper flavour. At 24 °C, a same-day loaf baked at 18:00 means feeding your starter at 05:10, mixing at 10:10 and shaping at 15:30.
Sourdough timeline chart: feed to loaf out
Hours from feeding the starter to taking the loaf out of the oven, by kitchen temperature, for a same-day bake and for an overnight cold proof in the fridge. They come from the same estimates the planner uses, rounded to the nearest half hour.
| Kitchen | Bulk | Same day | Overnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 °C (68 °F) | 7 h | 19 h | 27 h |
| 22 °C (72 °F) | 6 h | 16 h | 25 h |
| 24 °C (75 °F) | 5 h | 13½ h | 23 h |
| 26 °C (79 °F) | 4 h | 11½ h | 21½ h |
| 28 °C (82 °F) | 3½ h | 10 h | 20 h |
Bake-day timeline FAQ
How do I plan a sourdough bake-day schedule?
Work backwards from when you want the loaf out of the oven. Fix your bake time, then step back through proof, shape, bulk fermentation, mix and the starter feed — each stage has a rough duration that shifts with temperature. This planner does the backwards maths and gives you clock times.
What time should I feed my starter to bake tomorrow?
It depends on your feed ratio and kitchen temperature, but a common overnight plan is to feed in the morning, mix late afternoon once the starter peaks, bulk into the evening, shape, then cold-retard overnight and bake the next morning. Enter your bake time above and the planner marks the feed time for you.
Should I bulk ferment or cold retard overnight?
Both are used. A room-temperature schedule bakes the same day and is quicker; a cold overnight retard in the fridge after shaping spreads the work across two days, deepens flavour and makes scoring easier. Toggle the cold-retard option to see each schedule.
How long does a sourdough loaf take start to finish?
In this planner, from feeding the starter to the loaf coming out of the oven, a same-day bake at 24 °C takes about 13½ hours and an overnight cold-retard plan about 23 hours, most of it hands-off. Temperature moves both a lot: the same-day plan runs about 19 hours at 20 °C and 10 at 28 °C. Let the loaf cool for at least an hour before cutting.