Sourdough Starter Manager
Log each feed, watch your starter rise in a 3D jar and record when it peaks. After two feeds it learns your own starter’s timing, so you know when it will be ready.
- See the rise against the clock
- Learns your starter’s peak time
- Free, no account needed
Sourdough runs on a handful of numbers you end up looking up again and again — how long bulk takes at a given temperature, when the loaf is done, what hydration to aim for. This page collects them into clean reference charts. Every one assumes a healthy, active starter and standard white bread flour; treat them as starting points to read against your own dough, not fixed timers.
Bulk fermentation time by temperature
Temperature is the single biggest lever on bulk fermentation. The warmer the dough, the faster it ferments. These times come from our bulk calculator’s planning model, which assumes the time roughly halves for every 8°C / 14°F warmer; that is a working assumption, not a measured rule. The model uses 20% starter, white flour, 75% hydration and a 50% rise. Taking the dough further, to 75%, adds about a third.
| Dough temperature | Approx. bulk time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 65°F / 18°C | 7–9.5 hours | Slow; good for flavour, easy to control |
| 70°F / 21°C | 5.5–7.5 hours | Comfortable, forgiving window |
| 75°F / 24°C | 4.5–6 hours | The standard reference point |
| 78°F / 26°C | 3.5–5 hours | Watch it closely from here |
| 82°F / 28°C | 3–4 hours | Fast; overproofing gets easy |
Read the rise, not the clock: aim to end bulk when the dough has grown 50–75%, looks domed and jiggly, and shows bubbles at the edges.
Final proof chart (room vs cold)
After shaping, the final proof can happen at room temperature or in the fridge. Cold proofing is slower, more forgiving, and gives better flavour and scoring.
| Method | Temperature | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 70–75°F / 21–24°C | 1–4 hours | Same-day bakes |
| Cold / retard | ~39°F / 4°C | 8–16 hours | Flavour, easy scoring, schedule control |
| Cold (extended) | ~39°F / 4°C | 16–36 hours | More sour; watch for overproofing past ~24h |
Confirm with the poke test: press a floured finger gently into the dough. It should spring back slowly, about halfway. Springs back fast = underproofed; stays dented = overproofed.
Starter peak time by temperature & ratio
Use your starter at or just before peak. When it peaks depends on both temperature and feeding ratio — more food (a higher ratio) buys more time. Record a few feeds in the sourdough starter manager and it replaces these ranges with your own starter’s peak time.
| Feeding ratio | At 68°F / 20°C | At 75°F / 24°C | At 82°F / 28°C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1:1 | 6–10h | 4–6h | 2–4h |
| 1:2:2 | 8–12h | 6–10h | 4–6h |
| 1:5:5 | 14–18h | 10–14h | 6–10h |
Planning estimates for an established, healthy 100% hydration wheat starter, not one in its first two weeks. The 1:1:1 and 1:2:2 rows bracket what King Arthur Baking saw at about 78°F, checking every 4 hours; the other cells are our extrapolations. Doubling, the highest point and the first fall are separate moments, and your own starter will vary, so mark the jar and learn its timing. Source: King Arthur Baking, sourdough feeding ratio comparison (2025).
Bake temperature, time & doneness
The oven numbers for a standard 900g–1kg loaf in a preheated Dutch oven, plus the internal temperature that tells you it’s done.
| Stage | Setting | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Preheat (empty pot) | 230–260°C / 450–500°F | 30–60 min |
| Bake — lid on (steam) | 230–250°C / 450–480°F | ~20 min |
| Bake — lid off (brown) | 220–240°C / 425–465°F | 20–25 min |
| Done — internal crumb | 96°C / 205°F | — |
Start checking the probe at about 35 minutes total. Pull at 96°C (205°F), then cool at least 1–2 hours before slicing. For the full doneness breakdown by loaf type — enriched, sandwich-tin, and high-altitude targets — see the sourdough internal temperature table.
Related calculator
Bulk Fermentation Time Calculator
Enter dough temperature, starter %, flour blend, hydration and target rise to estimate bulk fermentation time — with fold times and a full bake schedule on the clock.
Hydration levels chart
Hydration is water weight as a percentage of flour weight. Higher hydration means a more open crumb but a slacker, harder-to-handle dough.
| Hydration | Handling | Crumb | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60–65% | Firm, easy | Tight, even | Sandwich loaves, beginners, shaping practice |
| 65–70% | Workable | Balanced, semi-open | The all-round standard boule |
| 70–75% | Slack, sticky | Open, holey | Rustic loaves, experienced handling |
| 75–85%+ | Very wet | Very open | Ciabatta-style, advanced technique |
Whole-grain flours absorb more water — add about 5% hydration for heavily whole-wheat or rye doughs to hit the same feel. Dial exact grams with the hydration calculator.
Free Sourdough Baking Playbook (printable PDF)
A printable PDF companion for the sourdough calculators and guides.
Crumb troubleshooting chart
What the inside of the loaf is telling you, and where to look first.
Watch for
- Dense & gummy throughout → underbaked (bake to 96°C) or sliced warm (cool fully)
- Tight, dense band near the base → underproofed, or crumb sliced hot
- Flat, wide loaf with collapsed holes → overproofed; shorten bulk or proof cooler
- Big tunnels near the top, dense below → poor shaping / degassing, or under-fermented bulk
- Tight even crumb, no openness → low hydration, weak starter, or under-fermented bulk
- Gnarly burst side / blowout → underproofed or scored too shallow
Wheat protein and aliquot rise reference
| Wheat flour protein | Starting aliquot target | Use with care |
|---|---|---|
| 8 to below 10% | 25% rise | Lower-strength wheat; assess handling closely |
| 10 to below 12% | 50% rise | Intermediate starting reference |
| 12–15% | 100% rise | Stronger wheat; lower the endpoint if your method needs it |
Protein-based rise guidance verified against The Sourdough Framework, Chapter 7, table 7.3. The non-overlapping endpoint convention here assigns exactly 10% to the middle row and exactly 12% to the upper row. These are trial starting points, not universal required rises.
Take the aliquot after initial strength development and keep it close to the main dough’s temperature. A tiny sample warms or cools faster than a large mass, so the two can drift apart. Warm dough destined for a long refrigerator proof may need an earlier stop. Do not use wheat protein targets to judge rye paste. The bulk calculator offers a manual override.
Read crumb with the dough record
| Baked observation | Possible explanations | What to compare before changing the recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Large tunnels surrounded by dense crumb | Insufficient fermentation or trapped shaping pockets | Dough expansion before shape and handling sequence |
| Low loaf with compressed or collapsed cells | Advanced fermentation, weak flour or insufficient structure | Whether dough was cohesive at shape; actual temperature |
| Even fine crumb | Lower hydration, enriched formula, shaping or fermentation | Whether fine slices are the intended style |
| Glossy or gummy crumb | Early slicing, incomplete bake, grain composition or fermentation | Cooling time, centre temperature and dough history |
| Uneven surface holes but otherwise airy crumb | Local gas pockets or shaping differences | Whole-loaf structure, not just the largest hole |
Do not diagnose fermentation from hole size alone. A sandwich loaf and ciabatta aim for different textures; high-rye bread has a different structure again. Photograph a fully cooled cross-section and record flour, hydration, rise and bake before comparing batches. Use the dense-loaf guide to follow the relevant cause rather than making every possible adjustment.
