Fermento
App of the Day
from the creators of 
murmur
Layered
A sourdough loaf takes about two days, and for most of that time the dough is left alone. The work is a handful of short steps. This is the schedule in Fermento's bread templates, with the points where it pays to write something down.
The loaf
Fermento's Country Sourdough template is 500 g of bread flour, 375 g of water, 100 g of starter and 10 g of salt. In baker's percentages that is 75% hydration, 20% starter and 2% salt. To check your own recipe, use the sourdough calculator.
The steps
| Step | In Fermento's templates | Write down |
|---|---|---|
| Feed the starter | Daily, in the starter template | The ratio, and when it peaked |
| Autolyse | 30 minutes | Flour and water weights |
| Add starter and salt | Once, after the autolyse | Dough temperature |
| Fold the dough | Every 30 minutes, in the pizza dough template | How many folds |
| Bulk ferment | 4 hours, in the rye template | Start, end and how far it rose |
| Shape and proof | Overnight, in the rye template | When it went into the fridge |
| Bake | Once, with steam in the rye template | Oven temperature, time and taste |
The times are starting points. Your flour, your starter and above all your kitchen will move them.
What moves the schedule
Temperature. Warm dough ferments faster. The Perfect Loaf's starter routine is timed for a starter kept at 76 to 78°F (about 25°C), and its author tells readers in much hotter kitchens to expect a starter to ripen in about half the time.
How much starter you use. More starter in the dough means a shorter bulk ferment. Less starter buys you time.
The fridge. Cold is how you fit a loaf around a working day. Shape in the evening, proof in the fridge overnight and bake when you are ready.
What to log
- When you fed the starter, at what ratio, and when it peaked.
- Flour, water, starter and salt by weight.
- Dough temperature after mixing.
- When the bulk ferment started and ended.
- When the loaf went into the fridge and when it was baked.
- How it tasted: tangy, sour, yeasty.
After three or four loaves the log shows how long each step takes in your own kitchen.
In Fermento
Each bake is a batch with its own timeline. The steps arrive as reminders, the readings and photos sit beside them, and the starter keeps a record of every loaf made from it. See bread and sourdough in Fermento and starters and SCOBYs.
Updated 11 November 2026.
Questions
How long does sourdough take from start to finish?
Fermento's Country Sourdough template allows two days from the first step to the bake. Most of that is waiting. A warm kitchen shortens it and a cold one stretches it.
What is baker's percentage?
Each ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight. 375 g of water in 500 g of flour is 75% hydration, and 100 g of starter is 20%.
Can I slow sourdough down to fit my day?
Yes. Cold slows fermentation. Fermento's pizza dough template rests the dough in the fridge for 24 to 72 hours, and the rye template proofs overnight.