Guide to Scheduling Sourdough into a Busy Life

Working 9 to 5 means passionate home bakers have very little time to bake, let alone tackle mammoth sourdough projects. Maybe you’re wondering whether the sourdough process can be squeezed into the weekend, or a couple of evenings during the week. Is it possible to schedule sourdough baking into a busy life?

Schedule sourdough baking into a busy life by adjusting the sourdough baking processes, including amount of starter, length, and temperature of both rises, and using the refrigerator and freezer. These techniques will also improve the taste of your bread and let you enjoy fresh bread regularly.

It is possible to adjust your baking schedule to fit into your working life. This handy guide offers schedules for full-timers to squeeze in sourdough baking over the weekend, during the week, and even in a single day. Learn how to adjust the sourdough process to fit your life and enjoy healthy, home-baked goods when you want them.

The sourdough baking process

The sourdough baking process is time-consuming. However, most of that time is not hands-on – instead, you can let the dough sit and do its own thing while you carry on with life. You don’t even need to be at home for most of the process.

Sourdough baking is a natural process. The good news is that it is flexible, and you can experiment with manipulating the different variables and techniques involved on your off day or over the weekend. Let’s look at the various steps in sourdough baking and how long they take. A summary of the steps is:

Step	Hands-on time
Step 1: Making your sourdough starter	2 minutes
Step 2: Mixing and autolyzing the dough	5-10 minutes
Step 3: Kneading, folding, and rising	15 minutes (spread out)
Step 4: Bulk fermentation, proofing, and rising	0 minutes
Step 5: Preshaping the dough	5 minutes
Step 6: Second rise	0 minutes
Step 7: Scoring and baking the dough	5 minutes

Step 1: Making your sourdough starter

This step will take up to a week on its own, but the good news is that it can be fitted in around your other activities. Unfortunately, there is no way to speed up the making of a sourdough starter.

• Day 1:  Combine ½ cup of flour and ¼ cup of water in a large mason jar and mix until smooth. Cover the jar with plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for 24 hours. Rye flour is a good starter flour as its rich nutrients speed up the fermentation process.
• Day 2: Check for signs of fermentation, such as bubbles or a dark liquid. Don’t worry if it hasn’t started yet. Leave for another 24 hours.
• Day 3: Pour off the hooch (dark liquid created during fermentation). Hooch is a sign that your starter needs to be fed. Remove about half of the starter with a spoon. Add ½ cup flour and ¼ cup warm water to the starter and mix until smooth. 
• Days 4-6: Feed the starter every 24 hours as per Day 3’s instructions. There should be bubbles forming, and the starter should grow spongy.

• Day 7: The starter should now have doubled in size and smell yeasty and pleasant. To test if it is ready to use, put a small dollop of starter in a glass of water: it is ready to use if it floats to the top. Transfer the starter into a clean jar. Your starter is now ready for use.
• Day 7 onwards: Feed your starter daily to make sure it flourishes and does not develop mold. You can keep this starter at room temperature.

Tips for busy bakers

The wild yeast in sourdough goes dormant when it gets cold, but it doesn’t die. You can revive it by feeding. To avoid having to feed your starter every day, make use of your refrigerator and freezer:

• Refrigerate your starter: Keep the starter in the back of the refrigerator and feed it only every couple of weeks. Take the starter out a day or so before you want to bake so that it comes to room temperature and can be fed to reactivate it. (You can use a starter straight from the fridge, but expect a slower process.)
• Freeze your starter:  Freeze freshly made starter in conveniently sized batches in plastic zip-lock bags. Thaw overnight and feed the starter in the morning. It should be ready for use that evening.
• Dehydrate your sourdough starter: Dry out your starter on a low heat in the oven, then freeze in batches. You will need to thaw and rehydrate the starter by adding warm water and then feeding it. The starter may take a couple of days to reactivate.

Note: If you want to learn more about your sourdough starter, make sure to read my Q&A “Sourdough Starter Troubleshooting: Your Questions Answered“

Step 2: Mixing and autolyzing the dough

This step involves combining the wet ingredients (water, sourdough starter, oil, etc.) with the dry ingredients (flour, salt) to form a shaggy, dryish mixture. This mixture needs to be covered with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and left to ‘rest’ for 30 minutes to an hour, during which the flour begins absorbing the liquid, kickstarting the fermentation process. This process is called autolyzation.

Tips for busy bakers

• The fresher and more active the starter, the faster the rise. So, if you have a starter you use often, and that is very bubbly, you can speed up the sourdough process.
• This is the step where you can adjust the amount of starter, flour, and water you want to use, which will influence Step 4, the long rise. Basically, the more starter you use, the faster the rise, so you can retard or slow down the rising process by using less starter. Percentages of starter to other ingredients can be 10 % to 40 % starter: the time variation will be a difference of 16 hours rising, versus only an hour or so rising. Remember that the longer the rise, the tastier and sourer the final loaf.
• To adjust the amount of starter, consider the texture of the dough after the first rise. If you find that your dough has risen too much and collapsed, you have used too much starter and not enough flour. If your dough hasn’t risen enough, you have not used enough starter, nor enough water. The more liquid the dough, the quicker the rise.
• To give the rise a quick start, use warm water in your mixture. A slightly warmer dough rises more quickly. But be careful not to use hot water, which will kill the wild yeast.
• Don’t be tempted to skip this step in an effort to speed up the sourdough process. Autolyzation makes for a far better rise and a lighter loaf.

Step 3: Kneading, folding, and rising

This is a hands-on step, which will need about 15 minutes of hands-on time, interspersed with resting times before the dough needs attention again. In total, you will need about three hours.

Roll the mixture into a ball in the bowl, then cover and leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes. Over the next 2 ½ hours, repeatedly knead/fold, stretch and rest the dough to slowly develop the gluten.

Tips for busy bakers

• This step does require your attention, so it is good to set aside an afternoon or evening when you will be in the kitchen anyway, such as batch cooking or prepping meals for the week. Think of the kneading and folding process as your weekly meditation. Or catch up on some shows and attend to the dough at commercial breaks.
• Missing a couple of folds and stretches isn’t the end of the world if you get distracted by a child or busy with something else. So long as you have a strong dough, your bread will be fine.

Step 4: Bulk fermentation, proofing, and rising

The dough now needs to rise in a warm room for a few hours or in the fridge overnight until it has doubled in size and looks light and spongy. This process can take anything from one to 16 hours, depending on the environment. 

Although this is a long process, your presence is not needed, so you can leave the dough while going to work or attending to errands and family. 

Note: If you want to perfect your proofing process for your sourdough, check out my article “Best Temperature for Proofing Sourdough: Full Guide & How To“

Tips for busy bakers

• This is another stage where you can influence the amount of time you want the dough to rise. You will already have decided whether you want a quick or slow rise, depending on the amount of starter used. Now you can adjust proofing time by adjusting the temperature of the environment for the rise. 
• Generally, the warmer the environment, the quicker the rise. If you want to speed up the rise (if you’re doing a one-day bake, especially), use a proofing box (also called a proofing cabinet or proof drawer). This is a device that keeps your dough warm (up to 115 ⁰F) and speeds up the proofing process. If you don’t have a proofing box, put three cups of boiling water in a pan in the oven, then put the dough in the oven with the light on – no heat switched on. Remember, though, that too warm an environment can cause the dough to rise too quickly and overproof.
• To slow down the proofing process, you can use a dough retarder, which is a special refrigeration device that keeps the dough around 50 ⁰F and ensures a long, slow rise.
• The fridge is the busy baker’s best friend. To ensure a slower rise, put your dough in the refrigerator overnight. If your house is cold, you can let the dough rise at room temperature overnight.
• Remember that dough is better underproofed than overproofed, so keep the dough in a cool place if you think you might be late or held up.

Step 5: Preshaping the dough

This step takes about 45 minutes, of which only a few minutes are hands-on. Lightly flour a board or surface. Tip out the sticky dough and divide it using a scraper. Preshape the dough into your desired shape and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes.

Tips for busy bakers

Although it may seem a quick and simple step, do not leave out the preshaping process. You may speed up the process, but a lack of preshaping can result in a loaf that loses its shape, rises poorly, and has too dense a crumb.

Step 6: Second rise

This is the final proofing stage, when the dough goes through a second rising process – again, your presence is not necessary for a few hours. The dough will not double in size again, though. Again, this rising time will depend on the temperature at which you keep the dough.

During this stage, you shape the dough into its final shape. Many bakers use a proofing basket (banneton), colander, bowl, or Dutch oven to hold their sourdough loaves for the final proofing. Remember to line your container to stop the dough from sticking.

Tips for busy bakers

• The second rise is another opportunity for you to speed up or retard the baking process. Again, the warmer the environment, the quicker the rise, so you may decide to refrigerate the dough again. 
• You don’t have to keep the dough at the same temperature for the two rises, either – you can have one at room temperature, and the other in the refrigerator. 
• You can also start your dough at room temperature, and then refrigerate it (e.g., once you leave for work). However, if you have a refrigerated dough, you need to allow it to come to room temperature before baking it. 

Step 7: Score and bake the dough

Fifteen minutes or so before you are ready to bake your bread, preheat the oven. Place the dough onto the prepared baking stone, tray, or into a Dutch oven. Score the dough with an oiled knife to allow steam to escape during baking. Most sourdough loaves take about an hour to bake. Sourdough bread needs to cool for an hour or so before slicing.

Note: If you want to learn more about scoring your sourdough, make sure to read my article “How to Score Bread Dough: Full Guide“

Tips for busy bakers

• If you don’t have much time to bake, try bulk baking so that you prepare a few items at a time, such as some rolls and a loaf or two of bread. 
• Freeze your additional bread so that you can simply defrost it and enjoy freshly baked bread without the effort of baking.

Schedules for sourdough baking during the working week

It is possible to enjoy freshly baked sourdough bread even if you have a busy life. You just need to plan ahead a little.

Here are two schedules you can use to fit in sourdough baking with a full-time job or hectic schedule. Both plans are based on a simple sourdough loaf recipe, and assume that you have a frozen or refrigerated sourdough starter. If you don’t have any starter, you will need an extra week to make your own.

Although times are given for the schedules, remember that sourdough is a tolerant dough, and you can be flexible – you can leave the dough to rise for longer than scheduled, so long as you keep it cool.

Schedule A: One-day sourdough 

This quick schedule allows you to make sourdough bread in a single day, provided your starter is ready. So, if you have one day off during the week, you can make sourdough bread while attending to chores around the house.

Tip for busy bakers

• This sourdough bread is best made with all-purpose or wholewheat flour, as it does not require the same amount of kneading as other flour. 
• One-day baking results in a slightly underproofed loaf, so your texture and flavor will not be as fantastic as bread with a more extended fermentation period.
• For better flavor, enrich your dough with sugar, butter, salt, honey, eggs, etc.
• If you are in a major hurry, you can use a starter straight from the fridge, so long as it’s been fed within the last week.

Schedule for one-day sourdough bread

Day	Task
1	Morning: Take sourdough starter out of the freezer. Thaw at room temperature.Evening: Feed the starter and leave it covered at room temperature.
2	8.00 am: Mix the dough. Allow it to autolyze 8.30 am: Fold and knead the dough for about five minutes.8.45 am – 10.45 am: Fold and stretch the dough at 30-minute intervals (you should do at least four repeats). 10.45 am – 12.00 pm: Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm place.12.00 pm – 1.00 pm: Preshape the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.1.00 pm – 4.00 pm: Shape the dough and place it into bannetons or bowls in a warm place for about three hours. (You could allow it to rise overnight in the refrigerator and bake the following morning.)3.45 pm: Preheat the oven.4.00 pm:  Bake your loaf for an hour.5.00 pm: Allow the loaf to cool for an hour or two before slicing.7.00 pm: Enjoy your fresh bread with dinner!

Schedule for one-day focaccia 

If you want an even quicker bake, you can make sourdough focaccia, which requires only a single rise. 

Tips for busy bakers

Focaccia is not the only bake that requires a single rise. Use single-rise sourdough to make pancakes, tortillas, and crackers. Sourdough muffins don’t even need a rising period.

Day	Task
1	Morning: Take sourdough starter out of the freezer. Thaw at room temperature.Evening: Feed the starter and leave it covered at room temperature.
2	8.00 am: Mix the dough. Allow it to autolyze 8.30 am:  Knead the dough for about five minutes, then gently roll out.8.45 am: Transfer the dough to a focaccia pan.9.00 am –12.00 pm: Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.11.45 am: Preheat the oven.12.00 pm:  Bake your focaccia for half an hour.1.00 pm: Allow the focaccia to cool a little before slicing.1.30 pm: Enjoy your fresh focaccia with lunch.

Schedule B: Three-day slow rise sourdough

Schedule B is one you can use for baking after hours, taking advantage of slow rises. This schedule assumes you can start baking at around 6.00 pm. With Schedule B, if you start the process on Sunday evening, you can potentially have fresh bread on Thursday morning or evening. 

Tip for busy bakers

• Long, slow rises increase the flavor of the sourdough bread, so make for a tastier loaf in the end.
• If you are in a real hurry, you can bake the dough straight from the fridge. This means a denser crumb, but a real treat in terms of fresh bread for breakfast.

Day	Task
1	Take sourdough starter out of the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
2	Morning: Take the starter out of the refrigerator. Feed the starter and leave it covered at room temperature.
3	Check whether the starter needs more feeding to reactivate it. You may need to leave it to develop for another day.
4	This is a hands-on evening and will require a good four to five hours of your time.  6.00 pm: Mix and autolyze the dough. 6.30 pm: Knead and rest the dough for 30 minutes.7.00 pm – 9.30 pm: Fold and stretch the dough at 30-minute intervals (you should do at least four or five repeats).9.30 pm: Cover the dough and leave it to rise in the refrigerator overnight.
5	6.00 pm: Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preshape the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.6.30 pm: Shape the dough and place it into proofing baskets or bowls for a second rise in the refrigerator.
6	You could bake this first thing in the morning if you want breakfast bread. Or use the evening times below:6.00 pm: Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow it to return to room temperature. Preheat the oven.6.15 pm: Bake your loaf for an hour.7.15 pm: Allow the loaf to cool for an hour or so before slicing.8.15 pm: Enjoy your fresh bread with dinner!

Schedule for sourdough baking over the weekend

If you have a couple of days for lazy baking over the weekend, you can take advantage of a slower second rising process and use this schedule, which will produce a loaf of fresh bread for Sunday brunch or lunch.

Day	Weekend schedule
Wednesday	Take sourdough starter out of the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Thursday	Morning: Take the starter out of the refrigerator. Feed the starter and leave it covered at room temperature.
Friday	Check whether the starter needs more feeding to reactivate it. You may need to leave it to develop for another day.
Saturday	10.00 am: Mix and autolyze the dough. 10.30 am: Knead and rest the dough for 30 minutes.11.00 am – 12.30 pm: Fold and stretch the dough at 30-minute intervals (you should do at least four or five repeats).12.30 pm: Cover the dough and leave to rise at room temperature.7.00 pm: Preshape the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.7.30 pm: Shape the dough and place it into bannetons or bowls for a second rise in the refrigerator.
Sunday	The earlier you wake up, the sooner you can have fresh bread. For breakfast or brunch, bake the bread straight out of the refrigerator. Or, for a slower start:10.00 am:  Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow it to return to room temperature. Preheat the oven.11.00 am: Bake your loaf for an hour.12.00 pm: Allow the loaf to cool for an hour or so before slicing.2.00 pm: Enjoy your fresh bread with lunch!

Conclusion

It is possible to fit sourdough baking into a busy life, even when you have a job and a hectic schedule. By adjusting the amount of starter, the temperature, and length of the rises and spreading the process over a couple of days, you can enjoy fresh sourdough bread whenever you want to. Remember that the fridge is your friend, in terms of maintaining a sourdough starter, helping with a slow rise, and keeping bulk-baked loaves frozen.