Your starter contains the yeast and bacteria that ferment the dough. It should be active and close to peak before you add it to the main dough.

Autolyse is a rest after combining flour and water. It gives the flour time to hydrate and lets gluten development begin before intensive mixing.

Combine the Flour and Water

Add the flour and water to your mixing bowl. Mix until no large pockets of dry flour remain.

The mixture may look rough, sticky, or uneven. It does not need to look like finished dough yet.

Cover the bowl to prevent the surface from drying.

Timing guidance: approximately 20 to 60 minutes is a practical range for a first loaf.

Hydration Basics

Hydration is the amount of water compared with the amount of flour, measured by weight.

A dough with water equal to 65% of its flour weight has 65% hydration. Higher-hydration dough is generally softer and stickier. Lower-hydration dough is usually easier for beginners to shape.

During mixing, you add the active starter and distribute it throughout the dough.

Add the Active Starter

Add the measured starter to the autolysed dough. Work it in by pinching, squeezing, folding, or using another gentle mixing method.

Even mixing matters because the starter should be distributed throughout the dough. Large unmixed areas can ferment unevenly.

Add Salt and Remaining Water

Add the salt. If your recipe holds back part of the water, add it gradually rather than all at once.

Continue mixing until the dough looks reasonably even and holds together. It does not need to be perfectly smooth. The following folds will continue developing strength.

Record Final Dough Temperature

If you have a thermometer, measure the dough temperature after mixing and record it in Crumblytics.

This measurement helps explain why one bake fermented more quickly than another. Warmer dough normally moves through fermentation faster.

Bulk fermentation is the main rise after mixing. The dough ferments as one mass before it is divided or shaped.

Folding happens during the earlier part of bulk fermentation. The folds strengthen the dough while the fermentation itself continues between and after them.

Perform Strength-building Folds

Two common methods are:

• Stretch-and-fold: lift one side of the dough, stretch it gently, and fold it across the centre. Repeat around the bowl.
• Coil fold: lift the dough from underneath and allow its ends to fold beneath themselves.

Crumblytics lets you set a fold count and run rest timers between folds.

Timing guidance: many beginner recipes use around 3 to 5 fold sets, with approximately 20 to 40 minutes of rest between them.

Watch the Dough Develop

As bulk fermentation progresses, look for:

• A smoother surface
• Improved elasticity and strength
• Less spreading after each fold
• Visible bubbles along the sides or surface
• Increased volume
• A lighter, more aerated feel

Timing guidance: bulk fermentation often takes around 3 to 6 hours, but temperature can move it well outside this range.

Dividing is necessary when making more than one loaf. Pre-shaping can still be useful when making a single loaf.

Divide the Dough if Needed

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. If you are making several loaves, divide it with a dough scraper.

Make clean cuts instead of repeatedly pulling or tearing the dough.

Pre-shape into Loose Rounds

Gently organise each portion into a loose round. The aim is to give the dough an initial structure, not to create maximum tension yet.

Leave the pre-shaped dough on the work surface so the gluten can relax before final shaping.

Timing guidance: approximately 15 to 30 minutes is common.

If the dough strongly resists stretching during final shaping, it may need a little longer. If it spreads excessively, it may already be very relaxed or lack strength.

Final shaping gives the loaf its form and creates surface tension that helps it rise upward instead of spreading flat.

Choose a Loaf Shape

• Boule: a round loaf
• Batard: an oval or oblong loaf

Build Surface Tension Carefully

Fold and tighten the dough using your chosen shaping method. The outer surface should become smoother and gently taut.

Work carefully enough to preserve some of the gas created during bulk fermentation.

Place the shaped loaf into a prepared proofing basket, commonly with the seam facing upward.

Final proof is the fermentation stage after shaping. Crumblytics supports several proof stages, allowing a warm proof, cold proof, or hybrid schedule.

Timing guidance: a warm proof may take around 1 to 4 hours. A cold proof often lasts around 8 to 18 hours. These are broad ranges, not guarantees.

Check Final-proof Readiness

Gently press the surface with a lightly floured finger.

• If the dough springs back quickly and completely, it may need more time.
• If it returns slowly and keeps a slight dent, it may be ready.
• If it does not recover and feels fragile, it may be overproofed.

The poke test is only one clue. Cold, wet, rye-rich, and wholegrain doughs may respond differently. Consider timing, temperature, volume, and dough feel together.

Score the dough immediately before loading it into the oven.

An expansion cut creates a planned weak point in the dough’s surface. It gives the loaf somewhere to open during oven spring.

1. Make sure the oven, pot, or steam setup is ready.
2. Turn out the proofed loaf.
3. Use a sharp blade or lame.
4. Make one confident expansion cut.
5. Load the dough promptly.

Fully preheat the oven and any baking vessel before loading the loaf. Strong initial heat supports oven spring and crust development.

Choose a Baking Method

Why Steam Matters

Steam keeps the crust flexible during the first part of baking. This gives the loaf time to expand before the crust hardens.

After expansion, removing the lid or releasing steam allows the crust to dry and brown.

Timing guidance: many sourdough loaves bake for approximately 35 to 50 minutes, usually with an initial covered or steamed phase followed by an uncovered phase.

Take the bread out of the baking vessel and move it to a cooling rack. Air should be able to circulate around the loaf.

Cooling is part of the baking process. Moisture continues moving through the crumb, and the internal structure becomes more stable.

Timing guidance: cool a typical loaf for around 1 to 2 hours before cutting. Larger or especially moist loaves may need longer.

Once the loaf has cooled and you can inspect the crust and crumb, finish the guided bake in Crumblytics.

Record the result while the details are still fresh:

• Save the completed bake to History.
• Add an overall rating.
• Rate taste, crumb structure, crust, and rise where available.
• Add notes about what worked and what you would change.
• Add photos of the whole loaf and sliced crumb.

A single bake cannot prove that one variable caused a particular result. Over several bakes, however, consistent records make useful patterns easier to recognise.

Crumblytics can use your recorded timings, temperatures, ingredient data, starter growth, proofing stages, and ratings to create more relevant estimates and comparisons for later bakes.