Now that you have your fridge starter going, you’re ready to bake! For most recipes that I’ve tried for a classic sourdough bread loaf or “table loaf,”  has a three-day baking schedule. Based on personal preference, you could go from feeding to baking in two or three days.

See sample baking schedules below! 

3 Day Sourdough Bread Baking Schedule:

• Day 1: 1) Feed fridge starter. 2) Feed discard and leave out overnight to ripen; this is your “levain.”
• Day 2: 1) Mix recipe as instructed using levain aka ripened starter. 2) Bread recipes typically “bulk ferment” or prove at room temp on this day. Then you shape and put in the fridge to ferment overnight or up to 24-48 hrs, depending on the recipe and how “sour” you want your sourdough to be.
• Day 3: 1) Take bread dough out of the fridge, allow to come to room temp and bake as instructed.

2 Day Sourdough Bread Baking Schedule:

• Day 1: 1) Feed fridge starter. 2) Feed discard and leave out overnight to ripen.
• Day 2: 1) Mix recipe using ripened starter. 2) Bread recipes typically “bulk ferment” or prove at room temp on this day for about 4 hrs. Then you shape and place in floured baskets or a bowl to ferment again about 2-4 hrs at room temp. 3) Bake!

Tips:

Finding a recipe that can be your go-to is awesome but also will take some trial and error. Pick a recipe and try it at least twice before moving on. Better yet, make notes on how it went, what worked/didn’t work. This will help you as you build your confidence with baking sourdough bread.

Here are a few fav recipes/guides that you may want to check out:
Table Loaf – Food52 & Sarah Owens (kind of no-knead, easy to follow, comes w a v good video)
Emilie’s Everyday Sourdough – Vanilla & Bean (no-knead, easy to follow)
Sourdough Bread Masterclass – Patrick Ryan (classic kneading, makes it less intimidating, easy to follow, Irish babe)
Sourdough Baking Tips & Tricks – Girl Versus Dough (Steph is awesome and so are her guides to baking)

What to read next:

1. Intro: My Sourdough Journey
2. How to Maintain a Sourdough Starter
3. A Guide to Baking with Sourdough 
4. Recipe: Classic Sourdough Bread

Want to see more? Follow my sourdough baking journey on Instagram @paintedfork!