Sourdough Rolling System

Fresh sourdough every 2-3 days, with all hands-on work happening in one evening window. A rolling, overlapping cycle: on the same evening, bake the loaf started 2-3 days ago and immediately mix and shape the next one — so exactly one loaf is always resting in the fridge, with no idle days and no daytime attention needed.

Method

Double cold fermentation

Short warm bulk right after mixing, then shaped and cold-proofed 48-72h, baked straight from the fridge.

Cycle length

Every 2-3 days

48h fridge time → 2-day cycle. 72h → 3-day cycle. Adjustable cycle to cycle.

Active time

~20-30 min per cycle

Bulk fermentation and cold proof need no attention — only mixing, folds, and shaping are hands-on.

Minimal recipe (one loaf)

Ingredient	Amount	Baker's %
Bread flour	500 g	100%
Water	350 g	70%
Active starter	100 g	20%
Salt	10 g	2%

~960g total dough, one loaf. Scales linearly for a larger loaf or two parallel loaves (see the extension below). 70% hydration is deliberately on the higher side, since the schedule's own constraints call for that — it holds up better through 48-72h of cold retardation than a stiffer dough would.

Step-by-step timeline (single cycle, evening-only)

Step	Time	Duration	Action
1. Autolyse	19:00	30 min	Mix flour + water only, let rest.
2. Mix in starter and salt	19:30	10 min	Incorporate active sourdough starter and salt into the autolysed dough.
3. Short warm bulk fermentation	19:40 – 21:30	~2 hours	3-4 stretch-and-folds at roughly 30-minute intervals to build dough strength. Overlaps with other evening tasks.
4. Shaping	21:30	10 min	Shape the dough and place it in a proofing basket (banneton).
5. Cold retardation	starts ~21:40	48-72 hours	Cold proof at 4-8°C (48h for a 2-day cycle, 72h for a 3-day cycle). No attention needed.
6. Baking	evening, 2-3 days later	45-60 min	Bake directly from cold, straight out of the fridge — no warm-up needed, roughly 5-10 minutes longer than a room-temperature loaf.

The rolling cycle

Every baking evening, two things happen back to back: bake the loaf that has finished its 48-72h cold proof, then immediately start steps 1-5 for the next loaf. Baking day and mixing day are always the same day, so there is always exactly one loaf resting in the fridge. Choosing 48h vs. 72h fridge time controls whether the cycle repeats every 2 or every 3 days, and this can be adjusted flexibly cycle to cycle depending on schedule.

Starter (levain) maintenance

Feed/refresh the starter as part of step 1, on the same evening: remove the portion needed for the new dough before feeding, then feed the remaining starter and return it to the fridge. The starter only needs attention every 2-3 days, in sync with the bread cycle.

Key parameters and constraints

Dough temperature before refrigeration: ideally 24-26°C.
Higher hydration doughs tolerate cold retardation better than very stiff doughs.
The finger-poke test remains the most reliable ripeness check, even on cold dough.
Starter must be active and vigorous before mixing, otherwise cold fermentation becomes too sluggish.
Dough shouldn't get too cold/over-chilled relative to the 48-72h window, or oven spring suffers during baking.
Active hands-on time per cycle: approximately 20-30 minutes total; bulk fermentation and cold proof need no attention.

Optional extension

For baking more frequently than every 2-3 days, a second proofing basket can be introduced to run two loaves in parallel, offset by 1-2 days.