Baking · schedule

Bake planner

“I want bread at 9 am Saturday.” Get every step — feed, mix, bulk, shape, proof, bake — with a time, and add it all to your calendar.

Updated · How we source our numbers

In short

Work backwards from when you want the bread. A 1:5:5 starter feed peaks in about 8–14 hours at room temperature. Bulk, shape, proof and bake follow your recipe’s own times.

When do you want bread?

Times from your recipe

Filled with an example — change them to match your recipe.
Your bake plan
Start
The starter’s peak time is an estimate; everything else is your recipe’s timing. Watch the dough, not the clock.
Why we give ranges, not exact minutes →

How the planner works

Tell it when you want the bread ready, and it works backwards through every stage: cooling, baking, preheating, proofing, shaping and bulk fermentation. For sourdough, it also says when to feed the starter so it peaks just as you mix. The result is a dated timeline you can add to your calendar with a reminder at each step.

Where the times come from

Only one number in the plan is ours: how long the starter takes to peak. It comes from our feeding ratio chart, checked against King Arthur Baking’s feeding-ratio trial, and your kitchen temperature decides whether the plan uses the fast, middle or slow end of that window. Bulk, proof, bake and preheat times are yours, from your recipe — they depend on your flour, dough temperature and oven, so we don’t pretend to know them. Get the dough to the right temperature with the desired dough temperature calculator.

Need the recipe itself? The sourdough calculator gives exact grams, and the starter calculator works out the feed.

How do I plan a sourdough bake schedule?
Start from when you want the bread ready and work backwards: cool, bake, proof, shape and bulk ferment. Feed the starter early enough to peak when you mix. The planner does the arithmetic and gives you a dated timeline.
Where do the times come from?
The starter’s peak window comes from our feeding-ratio chart, checked against King Arthur Baking’s trial. Your kitchen temperature picks its fast, middle or slow end. Bulk, proof, bake and preheat times come from your own recipe.
Can I add the schedule to my phone calendar?
Yes. 'Add to calendar' downloads an .ics file with every step and a reminder at each one. It opens in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook.
Does it work for yeasted bread?
Yes. Choose commercial yeast and the starter steps disappear; the rest of the plan works the same.

Related tools

Sourdough calculatorExact grams Starter calculatorFeed & discard Dough temperatureWater temp Feeding ratio chartPeak times