Plan your bake around your life. Enter your room temperature, starter activity, and desired bake time — get a step-by-step schedule with exact timings and ingredient weights.
Recipe Weights
🦠 Bulk fermentation is the key: The bulk ferment time varies enormously with temperature, starter activity, and flour type. The schedule is a guide — learn to read the dough. Look for 50–75% volume increase, bubbles throughout, dough that jiggles and passes the poke test.
🧊 Overnight cold proof benefits: Cold retarding in the fridge (2–12°C) for 8–16 hours slows fermentation, develops more complex sour flavour, and makes the dough much easier to score. Score directly from the fridge — the cold dough holds its shape and the temperature contrast improves oven spring.
🌡️ Temperature is everything: Every 5°C change roughly halves or doubles fermentation time. A dough that takes 5 hours at 21°C will take 10 hours at 16°C or just 2.5 hours at 26°C. If your kitchen is cold, proof inside a turned-off oven with just the oven light on (~27°C).