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Sourdough guide

Sourdough Schedule for a 9-to-5 Workday

By Bakers Percent editorial10 min readLast updated Researched guide, AI-assisted (how we make these)

On this page
  1. The two windows in a 9-to-5 day
  2. What your hands have to do
  3. Pattern 1: mix after work, bake before work (a dough at 75°F or warmer)
  4. Pattern 2: mix before work, shape after work (a very cool dough)
  5. Which pattern fits which kitchen?
  6. The awkward middle: 66–74°F
  7. How long can the loaf wait?
  8. Use the planner for your own day
  9. FAQ

How this guide was made: it is a researched guide compiled from the published sources listed at the end of this page. We compare what those sources say and do the arithmetic; we don't claim to have baked these loaves. Each instruction is attributed so you can check it.

A sourdough loaf is mostly waiting, and a job is mostly being somewhere else, so the two should fit. What makes it hard is that five steps need your hands (feed, mix, shape, preheat, bake) and the rest, bulk fermentation, the cold proof and cooling, do not. This page lays out where your hands have to be on a 9-to-5 day, then uses the numbers behind our bake planner to show which kitchen temperatures fit which schedule, with every time worked out from a published figure. Our overnight and same-day guide has the published weekday timelines (Timeline A in particular); this page checks them against the clock and tells you when they will not fit.

Quick answers

  • The pattern that works for most kitchens: feed your starter before you leave, mix when you get home, shape late in the evening and let the shaped loaf wait in the fridge while you sleep or work. That is the shape of The Perfect Loaf's weekday schedule [5], and it needs a dough warm enough to finish bulk in about 5 hours or less.
  • If the dough is warm (75°F or more): an evening mix at 5:30 pm finishes bulk between 8:00 and 10:30 pm on the chart's midpoints, still inside the evening. At 75°F the chart's 4–6 hours puts the midpoint at 5 hours, so shaping starts at 10:30 pm [1].
  • If the dough is very cool (65°F row): the chart's 8–12 hours can run while you are at work, from a mix at about 8:00 am to shaping at about 6:00 pm [1].
  • The awkward middle: at about 70–74°F neither pattern fits cleanly. The sections below say what the sources suggest instead.
  • How long the loaf can wait in the fridge: published figures run from 8 hours up to about 24, with 9:30 pm to 6:00 pm the next day in The Perfect Loaf's weekday schedule [3][5][7].

The two windows in a 9-to-5 day

We have to pick the hours your hands are free. For this page we assume you leave at 8:30 am and are home at 5:30 pm (a 9-to-5 job plus half an hour of commuting each way), and that you do not want a hands-on step at night. The bake planner treats the hours from 11 pm to 6 am as night and warns about any hands-on step in them, so we stop at 10:30 pm. These assumptions are ours, not a published figure; change them to your own day.

Window Hours What fits
Morning 6:00–8:30 am Feed the starter, preheat, bake (if a loaf is ready to go), or mix
At work 8:30 am–5:30 pm Starter ripening, bulk, the cold proof, cooling (no hands needed)
Evening 5:30–10:30 pm Mix, shape, preheat, bake

What your hands have to do

These are the planner's steps and durations, each from a published figure or the midpoint of a published range. Sources are numbered at the end of this page.

Step Needs your hands? Time used Basis
Feed the starter (1:5:5) Yes, briefly Ripe about 11 h later About 10 h at 70–72°F [6]; 10–12 h used in the planner (our weekend schedule feeds at 10 pm for a 10 am mix)
Mix Yes, briefly Bulk starts here [1]
Bulk fermentation No (folds early on) By temperature: 8–12 h at 65°F, 6–9 h at 70°F, 4–6 h at 75°F, 3–4 h at 80°F, 2–3 h at 85°F [1]
Pre-shape, rest, shape, into the fridge Yes 1 h Our weekend schedule: bulk ends about 3 pm, loaf in the fridge about 4 pm
Cold proof in the fridge No 12 h used (midpoint of 8–16 h) 8–12 h [2]; 8–16 h standard [7]; about 16 h [3]
Preheat oven and Dutch oven to 450°F Yes, briefly 45 min (30–60 min) At least 30 min (weekend schedule) to about an hour [5]
Bake Yes 45 min (35–50 min) 20 min lid on, 15–30 min lid off [3][4]
Cool on a rack No 1 h 30 min (1–2 h) Our weekend schedule

Pattern 1: mix after work, bake before work (a dough at 75°F or warmer)

Feed before you leave, mix the moment you are home, shape before bed and let the fridge do the rest. This is Timeline A in our overnight guide, which follows The Perfect Loaf's weekday schedule: a small levain at 7:00 am, mix at 5:00 pm, shape about 9:30 pm, bake straight from the fridge at 7:00 am, or leave it until you are home and bake at 6:00 pm [5]. Here is the same shape worked from the planner's numbers for a 75°F dough and a 5:30 pm mix:

When Step Notes
Day 1, 6:30 am Feed the starter 1:5:5 before you leave Ripe about 11 hours later; published 10–12 h [6]
Day 1, 5:30 pm Mix; bulk begins The 75°F row is 4–6 h; the planner uses the 5 h midpoint [1]
Day 1, 10:30 pm End bulk by the dough's signs; pre-shape, rest, shape, into the fridge The 5 h midpoint lands here; judge the dough, not the clock [1]
Day 1, 11:30 pm Cold proof begins Fridge at 38–40°F [7]
Day 2, 6:45 am Preheat the oven and Dutch oven to 450°F The loaf stays in the fridge while the oven heats [5]
Day 2, 7:30 am Bake straight from the fridge 45 minutes; out by 8:15 am. That is 8 hours in the fridge, the bottom of King Arthur's typical 8–12 h [2], so there is little margin
Day 2, 9:45 am Cooled and ready to slice Cooling needs no hands, so it happens while you are at work

The after-work alternative. Leave the shaped loaf in the fridge all day instead. Preheat at 5:30 pm when you are home, bake at 6:15 pm, out at 7:00 pm and cooled by 8:30 pm. That is 18 hours 45 minutes in the fridge, inside the "up to about 24 hours is usually fine" that The Perfect Loaf gives for its Beginner's loaf [3], and close to its weekday schedule's 9:30 pm to 6:00 pm next day [5]. A dough that was well fermented before it went in has less time to spare [7].

At 78°F the same plan moves earlier: bulk is 4 h 05 min at the midpoint, so shaping starts at 9:35 pm and an 8-hour fridge time means a 6:35 am bake. At 80°F, with 3 h 30 min of bulk, shaping starts at 9:00 pm [1].

Pattern 2: mix before work, shape after work (a very cool dough)

This only works when bulk is long, and long means cold. The 65°F row is 8–12 hours [1], so a dough mixed before you leave can still be bulking when you are back. The bake planner computes this plan exactly. For a 65°F dough, asking for bread cooled by Wednesday 9:15 am:

When Step Notes
Monday 9:00 pm Feed the starter 1:5:5 Ripe about 11 hours later
Tuesday 8:00 am Mix; bulk begins You have 30 minutes before you leave
Tuesday 6:00 pm End bulk (10 h, the midpoint of 8–12 h [1]); pre-shape, shape, into the fridge Our weekend schedule allows about an hour to the fridge
Tuesday 7:00 pm Cold proof begins 12 h used
Wednesday 6:15 am Preheat 45 min
Wednesday 7:00 am Bake 45 min; out by 7:45 am
Wednesday 9:15 am Cooled and ready to slice Cooling happens while you are leaving or at work

A dough at 65°F is a cold dough: a cool kitchen, cold water, or both. If your dough is at the 70°F row instead, the same morning mix finishes bulk (6–9 hours, midpoint 7 h 30 min) at about 3:15 pm, while you are still at work [1].

Which pattern fits which kitchen?

Here is when bulk ends for each row of the chart, for a morning mix at 7:45 am and for an evening mix at 5:30 pm, using the planner's midpoints [1]. Only the five published rows are shown.

Dough temperature Bulk (midpoint) Ends if mixed at 7:45 am Ends if mixed at 5:30 pm
65°F 10 h 5:45 pm: fits Pattern 2 3:30 am: no
70°F 7 h 30 min 3:15 pm: at work 1:00 am: no
75°F 5 h 12:45 pm: at work 10:30 pm: fits Pattern 1
80°F 3 h 30 min 11:15 am: at work 9:00 pm: fits Pattern 1
85°F 2 h 30 min 10:15 am: at work 8:00 pm: fits Pattern 1

How strict is "fits"? Beyond this table, we ran the planner's own logic for every ready-by time in 5-minute steps, for both its overnight and same-day schedules, at every whole degree from 62°F to 86°F, and counted a plan as a 9-to-5 plan only if every hands-on step landed in the morning or evening window above. With the planner's fixed 12-hour fridge time, only the 65°F row (and 66°F) and the 85°F row produced one (below 65°F and above 85°F the planner reuses those end rows). The 85°F version mixes at 6:00 am, shapes at 8:30 am just before you leave, and bakes at 9:30 pm. No same-day plan ever fit, and no overnight plan fit between 67°F and 84°F. That is why Pattern 1 shortens the fridge time to a published figure instead of using the planner's 12 hours.

The awkward middle: 66–74°F

At 70°F the chart says 6–9 hours, which finishes at 1:00 am from a 5:30 pm mix and at 3:15 pm from a 7:45 am mix, so neither pattern fits cleanly. The sources suggest three ways out: 1. Warm the dough, not the room. The chart is by dough temperature [1]. King Arthur gives 75–78°F as the ideal range for wheat doughs and says the same range suits sourdough [9]. Our water temperature calculator works out the water that gets you there; the bulk guide has worked examples for 68°F and 72°F kitchens. A dough that starts at about 75°F fits Pattern 1. 2. Use less starter for a longer bulk. The same chart runs from 8–12 hours with 5% starter to 2–4 hours with 30% or more at 75°F [1], and The Pantry Mama's overnight loaf for a room around 70°F or cooler uses only about 50 g of starter [8]. Our Timeline B in the overnight guide mixes at 6:00 pm and bulks overnight on the counter, with the shaped loaf in the fridge all day. 3. Move bulk into the fridge. A cold bulk lets you split the work across two days; see the bulk guide and the overnight guide.

How long can the loaf wait?

These are the published fridge times behind the patterns above:

Source Range given Notes
King Arthur, sourdough schedule [2] Typically 8–12 h refrigerated General guidance
The Perfect Loaf, Beginner's Sourdough [3] About 16 h; up to about 24 h is usually fine That recipe
The Perfect Loaf, weekday loaf [5] 9:30 pm to 7:00 am, or until 6:00 pm next day The author says in a reply that a few hours (about 2–3) is enough to bake straight from the fridge
How To Make Sourdough [7] 8–16 h standard; 24–48 h for more flavour Watch for over-fermentation

Your fridge should be cold, 38–40°F [7]; if it runs warm, the dough proofs faster than these times suggest. Signs it waited too long: a very soft, slack dough, a strong alcohol smell, a dent that barely springs back [7].

Use the planner for your own day

Choose the time you want bread, your dough temperature and "overnight", and the bake planner gives you every step with its published range and a night-time warning if a hands-on step lands between 11 pm and 6 am. It does not know your commute, so check the times against your own windows. To print the plan, use its Print button; to save it to a calendar, use Add to calendar.

Free planner: Try your own ready-by time and dough temperature; it warns you when a hands-on step lands in the middle of the night. Open the bake planner.

FAQ

Can I make sourdough bread if I work 9 to 5? Yes. The long steps (starter ripening, bulk fermentation, the cold proof and cooling) need no hands, and five short steps do: feed, mix, shape, preheat and bake. The Perfect Loaf publishes a weekday schedule that mixes after work and bakes the next morning, or after work the next day [5].

How long can shaped sourdough stay in the fridge while I'm at work? Published figures run from 8–12 hours (King Arthur [2]) to about 16 hours, up to about 24 [3]. The Perfect Loaf's weekday schedule allows 9:30 pm to 6:00 pm the next day [5].

Can I mix in the morning and shape after work? Only with a long bulk. The chart's 65°F row is 8–12 hours [1]. At 70°F the 6–9 hours would end while you are still at work.

What if my kitchen is 70°F? The chart is by dough temperature, not room temperature [1]. Warm the dough toward 75–78°F with warmer water [9], use less starter for a slower overnight bulk [8], or use a cold bulk.

Does the bake planner know my work hours? No. It warns about hands-on steps between 11 pm and 6 am, and nothing else. Check the times against your own day.

$6 printable: Want weekday and same-day timelines you can print and fill in? The Sourdough Schedule Pack has weekend, weekday-overnight and same-day timelines with 'planned' and 'actual' columns, a printable PDF for $6. See the Schedule Pack.

Sources (checked 2026-10-23)

  1. Sourdough Archive, "Sourdough Bulk Fermentation Chart: Complete Temperature + Time Guide": https://sourdougharchive.com/sourdough-bulk-fermentation-chart/
  2. King Arthur Baking, "Sourdough schedule: How to plan your bread baking timeline" (2026-05-20): https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2026/05/20/sourdough-starter-feeding-schedule
  3. The Perfect Loaf, "Beginner's Sourdough Bread" (updated 2026-01-15), including the author's replies: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/beginners-sourdough-bread/
  4. King Arthur Baking, "Crusty Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread" (updated 2026-09-28): https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/crusty-dutch-oven-sourdough-bread-recipe
  5. The Perfect Loaf, "Simple Weekday Sourdough Bread", including the author's reply of 2026-07-12: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/simple-weekday-sourdough-bread/
  6. Country Roads Sourdough, "Same Day Sourdough Bread": https://countryroadssourdough.com/same-day-sourdough-bread/
  7. How To Make Sourdough, "Cold Retard in Sourdough: What It Is and Why It Matters": https://howtomakesourdough.ca/cold-retard-in-sourdough-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/
  8. The Pantry Mama, "Overnight Sourdough Bread": https://pantrymama.com/overnight-sourdough-bread/
  9. King Arthur Baking, "Desired dough temperature" (2018-05-29): https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/05/29/desired-dough-temperature

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