My 4-Loaf Sourdough Schedule (i.e. how I make sourdough bread without going crazy)

 

I have been dabbling in sourdough for a little over a year now, and much of that time has been spent in the mild angst of these kinds of weeks:

• This would be the perfect day to bake sourdough bread, but my starter is not strong enough, nor did I mix up the dough last night.
• I have a strong starter, but no time to mix up bread tonight.
  
• I could mix up bread tonight, but I will not be home tomorrow morning to bake it. 
• My starter is not strong, but because I have time tonight to mix up dough and time tomorrow to bake it, I will just try anyway (naive optimism = super-sad-hockey-puck loaf of bread) 
• All of these days of failure to make sourdough bread have left me with jars of sourdough discard which require my time to bake into something. (*stressed*)
  
• Repeat.

After too many of these kinds of weeks and a little advice and experimentation, I have landed on a happy rhythm! I now only have to feed my starter three days a week, bake once, and get four lovely loaves of sourdough on a regular basis (plus a bonus batch of excellent pancakes made with the discard).

None of this is "the one right way" to do sourdough, but it has proven a very helpful and workable routine for our family. Feel free to take it and make it your own.

My Weekly Schedule

Friday (anytime): 

Take sourdough starter out of the fridge. Remove some discard (quantity varies depending on how much I have and how much discard I need for pancakes, see below) to leave about 1/3 cup starter. Feed with 60 g warm water and 60 g unbleached flour. Stir well and leave lightly covered on the counter. (Refrigerate discard.)

Optional but our weekly tradition: 

Friday night: 

Mix 1 1/2 batches of Classic Sourdough Pancakes. Leave on counter overnight. Cook pancakes Saturday morning according to recipe. (Note: This will require 340 g -- 1 1/2 cups -- sourdough discard, and if needed you can just add extra to your equal parts of warm water and unbleached flour when you feed your starter so that you'll have enough extra on hand for the pancakes.)

Saturday (anytime):

Remove 120 g starter as discard. Feed with 60 g warm water and 60 g unbleached flour. Stir well and leave lightly covered on the counter. (Refrigerate discard.)

Sunday:

After church, ideally no later than 2pm: 

Remove 120 g starter as discard. Feed with 100 g warm water and 100 g unbleached flour. (The extra amount will provide enough starter for 4 loaves of bread.) Stir well and leave lightly covered on the counter. (Refrigerate discard.)

Between 6-8pm (once starter has doubled in volume on the counter): 

Mix up dough.

To mix dough, use food scale to combine:

• 200 g sourdough starter, doubled in volume from when it was fed earlier in the day
• 1400 g warm water
• 36 g salt

Use a fork to whisk all this together well. Then add:

• 2000 g bread flour

Using the skinny end of a wooden spoon, combine and cut together all the ingredients until you have a shaggy dough and no flour pockets or soupy, watery areas. 

 

Cover (I flip another bowl upside down on top) and leave overnight.

 

Monday:

Dough looks like this in the morning:

 

Between 7:30-8:30am: 

Lightly flour counter. Dump the dough onto the counter and fold each side inward on itself. 

 Flip upside down. Cut into 4 even pieces and gently stretch and tuck the ends underneath to form a smooth ball. Set on floured counter and leave for 30-60 minutes.

 

After 30 minutes: 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (Optional: Put Dutch oven in the oven to preheat as well.)

When oven is hot: 

Place one piece of dough into Dutch oven, on a piece of parchment paper. Cut 3 slashes on top (I use kitchen shears). Cover with lid and put in oven. 

 

Place second piece of dough into 6" aluminum hotel pan, on a piece of parchment paper. Cut 3 slashes on top. Cover with lid and put in oven (both on top rack).

Bake 30 minutes. Remove lid from Dutch oven (I keep the hotel pan covered). 

Bake additional 30 minutes. Remove bread from both pans to wire rack. 

 

Put another piece of dough into Dutch oven and hotel pan, repeat process of slashing, covering, baking 30 min, uncovering Dutch oven, baking final 30 minutes.

Remove all bread to wire rack. Let cool at least one hour before slicing.

(To slice, I cut a loaf in half lengthwise, then set cut side down and slice into pieces through the crusty end.)

Any bread that is not eaten on the day it is baked, I put into a ziplock bag in the freezer. Thaw on counter overnight.

 

If you want something printable, here are the instructions without pictures.

 

My Weekly Schedule

Friday (anytime): 

Take sourdough starter out of the fridge. Remove some discard (quantity varies depending on how much I have and how much discard I need for pancakes, see below) to leave about 1/3 cup starter. Feed with 60 g warm water and 60 g unbleached flour. Stir well and leave lightly covered on the counter. (Refrigerate discard.)

Optional but our weekly tradition: 

Friday night: 

Mix 1 1/2 batches of Classic Sourdough Pancakes. Leave on counter overnight. Cook pancakes Saturday morning according to recipe. (Note: This will require 340 g -- 1 1/2 cups -- sourdough discard, and if needed you can just add extra to your equal parts of warm water and unbleached flour when you feed your starter so that you'll have enough extra on hand for the pancakes.)

Saturday (anytime):

Remove 120 g starter as discard. Feed with 60 g warm water and 60 g unbleached flour. Stir well and leave lightly covered on the counter. (Refrigerate discard.)

Sunday:

After church, ideally no later than 2pm: 

Remove 120 g starter as discard. Feed with 100 g warm water and 100 g unbleached flour. (The extra amount will provide enough starter for 4 loaves of bread.) Stir well and leave lightly covered on the counter. (Refrigerate discard.)

Between 6-8pm (once starter has doubled in volume on the counter): 

Mix up dough.

To mix dough, use food scale to combine:

• 200 g sourdough starter, doubled in volume from when it was fed earlier in the day
• 1400 g warm water
• 36 g salt

Use a fork to whisk all this together well. Then add:

• 2000 g bread flour

Using the skinny end of a wooden spoon, combine and cut together all the ingredients until you have a shaggy dough and no flour pockets or soupy, watery areas.

Cover (I flip another bowl upside down on top) and leave overnight.

Monday:

Between 7:30-8:30am: 

Lightly flour counter. Dump the dough onto the counter and fold each side inward on itself. 

Flip upside down. Cut into 4 even pieces and gently stretch and tuck the ends underneath to form a smooth ball. Set on floured counter and leave for 30-60 minutes.
  

After 30 minutes: 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (Optional: Put Dutch oven in the oven to preheat as well.)

When oven is hot: 

Place one piece of dough into Dutch oven, on a piece of parchment paper. Cut 3 slashes on top (I use kitchen shears). Cover with lid and put in oven. 

Place second piece of dough into 6" aluminum hotel pan, on a piece of parchment paper. Cut 3 slashes on top. Cover with lid and put in oven (both on top rack).

Bake 30 minutes. Remove lid from Dutch oven (I keep the hotel pan covered). 

Bake additional 30 minutes. Remove bread from both pans to wire rack. 

Put another piece of dough into Dutch oven and hotel pan, repeat process of slashing, covering, baking 30 min, uncovering Dutch oven, baking final 30 minutes.

Remove all bread to wire rack. Let cool at least one hour before slicing.

(To slice, I cut a loaf in half lengthwise, then set cut side down and slice into pieces through the crusty end.)

Any bread that is not eaten on the day it is baked, I put into a ziplock bag in the freezer. Thaw on counter overnight.

 

 Enjoy!