Flavour & Fire
The Sourdough Journal
Planning Your First Loaf
A sourdough loaf is not something you simply squeeze in between everything else. Not because it requires that much work, but because the dough needs time of its own.
From the moment you feed your starter to the moment you slice into a completely cooled loaf, you are looking at roughly a day and a half. Yet you are certainly not spending a day and a half in the kitchen. Most of that time, things are happening without you: your starter becomes active, the dough ferments, the fridge does its work, and eventually the loaf is given time to cool properly. Sourdough therefore asks mostly for a little forward planning and a few moments of attention spread throughout your day.
It helps not to think only in terms of a recipe, but to look at the rhythm of the whole process.
First Your Starter, Then Your Loaf
Before you can bake your first loaf, your starter needs to be active enough, of course. When you have only just made it, it can take one to two weeks to develop properly. During that time, you feed it daily while learning how it looks, smells and responds.
Once your starter is mature and reliably active, you do not have to go through that whole process every time. From then on, planning a loaf really begins with one simple question: when do you want to bake? From there, you can work backwards and feed your starter so that it is ready when you want to begin making your dough.
The Evening Before
Many bakers begin planning the evening before the dough is made. You feed your starter and then give it time to become active. Exactly how long that takes varies from one kitchen and one starter to another; temperature, flour and feeding ratio all play a part. Over time, you learn not only to follow a ratio, but also to predict roughly when your starter will reach its peak.
After that, there is really nothing more to do. Your starter sits on the kitchen counter while you sleep, work or simply carry on with your evening.
And that is precisely the charm of it.
The First Half of Your Baking Day
Once your starter is active, the actual loaf begins. You mix the flour and water and leave the dough to rest for a while. Depending on your method, this first rest might take around twenty to sixty minutes. Then you add the starter and salt and begin the bulk fermentation.
The hours that follow consist of a few short moments of attention. You might fold the dough four times, with roughly half an hour between each round. Each round takes only a few minutes. Then you leave the dough alone again while fermentation continues.
This whole stage can easily take up half a day, but for most of that time you are not baking. You can have breakfast, work, do the shopping, read or simply get on with your day. You only need to come back to the dough every now and then.
Sourdough does not require constant attention. It asks that you be present at the right moments.
From Bulk Fermentation to Shaping
Once the bulk fermentation is finished, the dough finally begins to look like a loaf. You gently turn it out, shape it and build enough tension without unnecessarily knocking out the air that has developed during fermentation.
Allow around ten to fifteen minutes of active work here. Then the dough goes into its proving basket and begins another long rest.
This time, in the fridge.
A Night in the Fridge
The cold proof usually takes around eight to twelve hours. The dough sits covered in the fridge while you sleep and continues to develop quietly.
Again, there is nothing for you to do. In fact, leaving the dough alone is exactly the point: it gives the fermentation more time, while also making the dough firmer and easier to handle the following morning.
That makes the fridge such a useful part of your planning. You do not have to finish everything in a single day; you can simply let a large part of the process happen during the hours when you would not be doing anything with the loaf anyway.
The Following Morning
The following morning, the final stage begins. While your oven or Dutch oven heats thoroughly, usually for around thirty minutes, the dough stays cold and firm. You then turn it out, score it and place it straight into the hot oven.
At this point, the active work is almost finished. A few minutes of preparation, and then the oven takes over. Depending on your recipe and oven, baking usually takes around fifty to fifty-five minutes.
And then the loaf is done.
Or, actually, not quite yet.
The Hardest Part: Waiting
A freshly baked loaf naturally smells as though it should be sliced immediately. Yet this may be the moment when you need the most patience. Let the loaf cool for at least an hour, and preferably a little longer.
As it cools, the crumb continues to set and the structure of the bread changes. Cut into it too soon and the inside can still be slightly gummy, making it harder to cut clean, even slices.
So once again, the rule is simple: you do not have to do anything.
You just have to leave the bread alone.
How Much Time Does One Loaf Actually Take?
From the first feeding of your starter to a completely cooled loaf, you are looking at roughly a day and a half. The actual hands-on work, however, adds up to around an hour, spread across several different moments. The rest of the time is spent waiting while fermentation, the fridge, the oven and finally the cooling process do their work.
That difference matters. Sourdough does not require a whole day off, nor does it demand your constant attention. What it really asks is that you know what happens when, so that you can fit those moments around the rest of your day.
You do not really plan sourdough instead of your life. You fit it into it.
A Rhythm That Comes Naturally
After a few loaves, a pattern often begins to emerge on its own. Perhaps you feed your starter in the evening, mix your dough the following morning and fold it between other things. Later in the day, you shape the loaf and put it in the fridge. The next morning, you heat the oven and bake while the rest of the house slowly wakes up.
Perhaps you do it completely differently. That is fine too.
There is no perfect sourdough schedule. There is only a schedule that works with your starter, your kitchen and your day. The better you get to know your starter and your dough, the less you need to calculate and the easier it becomes to fit each stage around your own life.
Eventually, it feels less like planning and more like a habit.
The Basic Schedule
The evening before
Feed your starter and let it mature.
Baking day
Mix, rest, add starter and salt, fold, bulk ferment and shape.
Overnight
Cold proof in the fridge.
The following morning
Preheat, score, bake and allow to cool for at least an hour.
Then: bread on the table.
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Planning Your First Loaf
The first days ask for attention, not haste.