Guides

Schedules and seasons

Sourdough is slow, but most of the waiting is not work. Start with the overnight cold proof, the most useful trick in home sourdough, then find the schedule and the season that match your kitchen.

New here? Read The Cold Proof: An Overnight Sourdough Schedule first. Shaping in the evening and baking from the fridge in the morning solves three problems at once: deeper flavor, a firm dough that scores cleanly, and a bake that fits around work and sleep. The rest of this section is schedules for real lives, plus what changes in a cold winter kitchen and a hot summer one.

The short version: work backwards from when you want bread, change the starter's feeding ratio rather than your sleep, and when the dough and the plan disagree, believe the dough. The fridge is your pause button.