My Sourdough Baking Schedule

Baking without commercial yeast requires patience and some dedicated time, but creating a sourdough baking schedule that fits your life can make the process manageable and rewarding. Whether you're working around a busy schedule or just want fresh bread at the perfect moment, planning ahead is the key to keeping sourdough baking stress-free and delicious!

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Creating Sourdough Baking Schedule
Sourdough Starter Feeding Routine
Sourdough Bread Schedule Example
Adjustments To Consider To Fit Your Lifestyle
More Sourdough Resources

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Creating Sourdough Baking Schedule

Fitting sourdough baking into a busy life might sound like juggling dough, but with a bit of planning, it's totally doable! The trick is to remember that Day 1 is really the only hands-on day - mixing, folding, and shaping. So, pick a day when you'll be around to handle the dough and have some extra time to spend quality time with your sourdough.

The rest of the week? A breeze! With the dough cold-proofing in the fridge, you can bake fresh bread the next day or even the day after. And the rest of the days, it's all about sourdough starter maintenance and maybe a couple of easy sourdough discard recipes to prevent that food waste!

Once you have your go-to recipe, you'll be able to fit sourdough into your routine like a pro!

Sourdough Starter Feeding Routine

Here's the feeding schedule that works for me in my day-to-day life. Naturally, around Christmas and Easter, I bake more often, so the feedings become more frequent. I keep a small starter and always use the sourdough discard to whip up various delicious treats as I go, so no food goes to waste.

As you know, a healthy, well-maintained sourdough starter is a fundamental starting point for great sourdough, so it's important to find a routine that fits your life style as well as keeps your starter strong and happy.

Active sourdough starter overflowing a glass jar partially covered with a lid.

Here's what I do:

MONDAY

I take 90g of starter (if I have more than 90g, I place the remaining starter in a jar labelled "DISCARD"). I feed 90g of starter with 90g water and 90g flour (I now have 270g in total)
I leave this at room temperature in a warm spot until it doubles in size, to turn it into an active starter.
I use 160g of this starter to make a loaf of sourdough bread with a great rise.
I then feed 50g of the remaining starter with 50g water and 50g flour, resulting in 150g. This goes into the fridge, labelled "ACTIVE" (it actually says "Good Stuff"...)
The rest of the starter (60g) is placed in a jar labelled "DISCARD" and stored in the fridge for future sourdough discard recipes.

Note, that I use a kitchen scale for precise measurements of flour, water, and starter throughout the week. This ensures my sourdough loaves and treats turn out consistently every time.

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY

No feeding. The starter and the discard both rest in the fridge.

Sourdough starter in a glass jar in the fridge.

THURSDAY

I take out the "ACTIVE" starter (150g) and feed it with 150 g water and 150 g flour.
After leaving it to double in volume in a warm spot, I use around 100-160g of it to make sourdough bread (a sample schedule for sourdough bread is detailed below), naan flatbreads, sourdough croissants, or sourdough cinnamon rolls.
I'm left with about 290 g starter. I take 30g of that and feed it with 30g water and 30g flour, putting the 90g back into the fridge, labelled "ACTIVE".
The remaining 260g goes into the "DISCARD" jar, leaving me with approximately 320g of sourdough discard ready for weekend baking.

Sourdough starter fermenting next to a grey tea towel.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY

No feeding. Over the weekend, I'll use all 320g of sourdough discard to make snacks for the week, typically:

225g for Sourdough Discard Crackers
The rest is used for Sourdough Pancakes, Sourdough Pie Crust, or something sweet like Sourdough Brownies or Lemon Muffins.

SUNDAY

No feeding. By the end of the weekend, I've used up all my sourdough discard and have about 90g of starter left in the fridge, ready for the next week's cycle.

This routine keeps my starter healthy and active while making sure nothing goes to waste! You can learn more about how to feed sourdough starter here.

Sourdough Bread Schedule Example

Here's an example of a sourdough bread schedule over two days, breaking down the process to make it easier to follow and giving your sourdough bread recipe time to ferment and develop the flavours.

Day 1: Preparing the Dough (7 AM Start)

1. Feed Your Starter or Make a Levain (7:00 AM)

First thing in the morning, I feed my sourdough starter. This involves feeding equal parts flour and water, leaving it at room temperature (ideally, 22-27 C) to at least double in volume.

This usually takes around 4 hours (it typically more than doubles in that time). The key is to use your active sourdough starter before it starts deflating.

Active sourdough starter in a glass jar.

2. Autolyse (11:00 AM)

After the starter has doubled in size, I mix the flour (or a portion of it) and water for the dough. This autolyse step hydrates the dough and makes handling high-hydration sourdough easier, avoiding a sticky mess later on. I leave the mixture of flour and water to rest for 30 minutes.

For transparency reasons, I don't do this with all my sourdough bread recipes, and reserve this method for higher-hydration doughs like sourdough ciabatta or sourdough fougasse.

3. Incorporate Starter and Begin Folds (11:45 AM)

After the autolyse, I add the bubbly sourdough starter and salt to the dough mixture and begin coil folds or sets of stretch and folds. Using wet hands, I fold the dough 4-6 times at 30-minute intervals. I let the dough rest between folds in a warm spot.

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At this point, sometime midway through the folds, I will incorporate any mix-ins into sourdough (sometimes using the folding method and other times using the sourdough lamination process).

Mix It Up: Turn Your Sourdough into a Flavour Adventure.

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4. Bulk Fermentation Continues (11:45 AM - 5:45 PM)

Bulk fermentation process starts as soon as the sourdough starter is added to the mix, so it happens during the folding too. But after the final set of folds, I allow the dough to continue resting in the mixing bowl for another 2-4 hours (depending on the temperature, amount of starter added, flour used and any additions). You can read more about the cues that your sourdough is done bulk fermenting (aka first rise) in our dedicated article about Bulk Fermentation.

Surface of bubbly sourdough ciabatta dough after 4 sets of coil fold have been performed

5. Shaping the Dough (5:45 PM)

After the bulk fermentation time, I gently transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface and shape it. After shaping, I place the dough into a Benetton basket sprinkled with rice flour (or any proofing basket alternative lined with a tea towel).

6. Cold Retardation (6:00 PM - Overnight)

The shaped dough goes into the fridge inside a plastic bag for a cold proof. This step, also known as cold retardation, slows the fermentation process and improves the flavour and structure of the dough. The dough can stay in the cold temperatures overnight or even up to 48 hours in most cases.

Sourdough in a proofing basket inside a plastic bag.

Day 2: Baking

1. Preheat Dutch Oven (7:30 AM)

The next day, I preheat my oven and Dutch oven at 230°C (450°F). Preheating the Dutch oven ensures a burst of steam when the dough goes in. It what gives the loaf that characteristic crust and a good oven spring.

2. Scoring the Dough (8:00 AM)

Once the oven is preheated, I take the cold dough from the fridge and invert it onto a piece of parchment paper. I then score the top of the dough with a razor blade or sharp knife.

3. Baking the Bread (8:10 AM)

Holding the bread by the edges of the parchment paper, I carefully lower the dough into the hot Dutch oven. Then cover it with a lid, and bake! Midway through baking, I remove the lid and let it bake uncovered allowing the crust to turn golden brown and crispy.

Scored sourdough bread in the Dutch Oven.

4. Cooling (9:00 AM)

Finally, I transfer the baked sourdough loaf onto a wire rack to cool down completely before slicing.

If you are ready to put it in action, try my Everyday Sourdough Bread recipe. I make it once a week, slice it and freeze it. After toasting, it tastes just like fresh sourdough bread.

Sourdough loaf cut in half on a wooden chopping board.

Adjustments To Consider To Fit Your Lifestyle

Making sourdough bread can be a time-consuming process. But with a few tweaks, you can adjust the routine to better suit your schedule while still achieving great results. Here are some handy tips to make sourdough baking work for you:

Use Less Starter to Extend Bulk Fermentation
If you want to slow down the dough rise and extend bulk fermentation (possibly overnight), try reducing the amount of starter in your recipe. Using less active sourdough starter will slow down fermentation, giving you more flexibility to fit the process around your day.
Speed Up Fermentation with Whole Wheat or Rye Flour
If you're pressed for time, consider adding a small portion of whole wheat flour or rye flour to your dough. These flours ferment faster than white flour, speeding up the bulk fermentation process without compromising flavour.
Skip the Autolyse Step
If you're in a hurry or find it difficult to schedule, you can skip the autolyse. While it's a beneficial step for improving dough structure and handling, skipping it won't drastically impact the quality of your bread.
Feed Starter the Night Before
To have your sourdough starter ready to go first thing in the morning, feed it the night before using a ratio of 1 part starter: 2 parts water: 2 parts flour. This gives the starter time to develop overnight, so it's active and bubbly when you wake up.
Adjust for Colder or Warmer Kitchens
If your kitchen is cooler, consider increasing the fermentation time to allow for a proper rise. Conversely, if your kitchen is warm, you may need to shorten the dough rise to avoid over-proofing.

By following these tips, you can make adjustments to your sourdough routine that fit around your lifestyle, all while ensuring the best results for your sourdough loaves.