The schedule
Times are for dough at 75°F / 24°C. Warmer is faster, cooler is slower — start to finish this loaf takes 31h 40m at 68°F, 27h 22m at 75°F, 25h 11m at 80°F. Steps marked in colour scale with temperature; the rest do not.
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1
0:00 · 5h
Build the levain
Mix the levain weights from the formula card. Ready when it has domed and is just starting to flatten — floats in water, smells sweet-sour, not sharp.
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2
5:00 · 1h
Autolyse
Flour and water only — no salt, no levain. Mix until no dry flour remains, then leave it alone. The dough hydrates and starts building gluten on its own.
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3
6:00 · 30m
Add the levain
Pinch and fold the levain through until there are no streaks left.
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4
6:30 · 30m
Add the salt
Salt plus a small splash of the reserved water. Squeeze it through, then fold the dough over itself until it comes back together.
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5
7:00 · 30m
Bulk ferment
Cover and keep it warm. First fold in 30 min.
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7:30 · 30m
Stretch and fold 1 of 4
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8:00 · 30m
Stretch and fold 2 of 4
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8:30 · 30m
Stretch and fold 3 of 4
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9:00 · 30m
Stretch and fold 4 of 4
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6
9:30 · 1h 30m
Bulk, hands off
No more folding. Bulk is done when the dough has risen roughly 50%, domed, and feels airy — jiggly, not soupy. Read the dough, not this clock.
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7
11:00 · 5m
Pre-shape
Tip out onto a bare counter, fold into a loose round with a bench scraper. No flour under it — you need the drag.
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8
11:05 · 25m
Bench rest
Uncovered. The round will relax and spread a little; that is fine.
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9
11:30 · 10m
Shape and basket
Shape tight, seam side up in a floured banneton. Rice flour if you have it.
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10
11:40 · 12h
Cold proof
Straight into the fridge, bagged. 8–16 hours all work; longer means more sour and an easier score.
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11
23:40 · 1h
Oven on
480°F / 250°C, Dutch oven preheated inside. Give the pot at least 45 minutes at temperature — a cold pot is the most common reason a loaf comes out pale and flat.
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12
24:40 · 20m
Bake covered
Turn the dough out onto parchment, score it in one confident stroke about 1 cm deep, lower it in, lid on.
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13
25:00 · 22m
Lid off
Drop the oven to 450°F / 230°C. Bake until the crust is deep brown — darker than feels comfortable. Internal temperature 205–210°F / 96–99°C.
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14
25:22 · 2h
Cool before cutting
On a rack, at least two hours. The crumb is still setting; cutting early is what makes a loaf gummy.
At 75°F the dough ferments at the rate this schedule was written for. Fermentation runs about 1.4× longer at 68°F.
More schedules
Try another loaf
Country loaf, same day
Levain at breakfast, bread by dinner. No fridge step, so the timing is tighter and the flavour is milder.
First loaf, 70%
Stiffer dough, fewer folds, more margin. Start here if a previous loaf turned into a puddle.
Open crumb, 82%
High hydration, gentle handling, long cold proof. Wants strong flour and a starter that is firing reliably.