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Sourdough schedule for workdays
A levain-to-loaf timeline that fits around a nine-to-five, with the fridge doing the waiting.
The timeline
Tuesday 10pm: feed the starter, 1:5:5. Wednesday 7am: mix the dough, autolyse 30 minutes, add salt. Stretch and folds at 7:30 and 8:00, then into the fridge before leaving. Wednesday 6pm: shape, back into the fridge in the banneton. Thursday 7am: bake straight from the fridge.
The formula
500 g bread flour, 50 g whole wheat, 400 g water, 100 g levain, 11 g salt. 80 percent hydration is the ceiling for a cold kitchen in winter; drop to 75 percent if shaping gets sticky, and in humid summer weeks.
The bake
Dutch oven preheated at 500°F for 45 minutes. Bake 20 minutes with the lid, then 22 minutes at 450°F without. Cool two hours before cutting, which is the hardest step.
When it goes wrong
Flat loaf: the bulk was too short or the kitchen too cold. Add an hour on the counter before the fridge. Big holes under the crust: under-proofed, give the shaped loaf longer.