Guides Journal

Sourdough and Bread

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Step 1 of 6 · Style selection

Step 1 of 6: Style selection

What are you baking today?

Pick the foundation of your loaf. You can fine-tune texture and hydration in the next steps.

Super Soft Milk Bread — pillowy Tangzhong crumb
Super Soft Milk Bread

Pillowy, cloud-like crumb with a paper-thin golden crust. Shreddable and stays fresh for days.

Everyday Sandwich Loaf — even structured crumb
Everyday Sandwich Loaf

Structured, even crumb that slices cleanly. Soft but resilient — built for toast and sandwiches.

Rustic Artisan Loaf — open crumb and crackly crust
Rustic Artisan Loaf

Wild open crumb with a thick, crackly crust. Chewy, custardy interior from long fermentation.

Milk Bread

65–72% hydration baseline

Formula baseline Milk Bread

Hydration

typical range

65–72%

Whole Wheat

typical range

0–15%

Likely texture: Pillowy, cloud-like crumb with a paper-thin golden crust. Shreddable and stays fresh for days.

Leaven & timing

How do you want to raise your dough, and how much time do you have?

Sourdough
Yeast
Overnight

Proof overnight, bake next morning

Same day

Faster rise, bake today

How much bread?

Choose your batch size and room temperature (affects rise time).

Small
450g
1 loaf
900g
2 loaves
1800g
Custom
Your size

Custom: 300–8000g total dough (same range as Pro). Recipe scales automatically.

75°F

Warmer rooms mean faster fermentation.

More timing options

Pick a timing style—maps to starter/pre-ferment % under the hood.

Longer windows add scheduling flexibility. Informational only—not medical advice.

Alternative flour (optional)

Swapping flours? Pick a grain for hydration tips—whole wheat % is a rough proxy for alt grains in the mix.

See full high-protein hydration chart

Choose your milk bread crumb

Pick a crumb goal for your bread style. These adjust hydration and enrichment, not the ferment timing you already chose.

Texture prediction
Likely texture: balanced and versatile

Main drivers update as you choose a crumb goal.

Softness0
Openness0
Chewiness0
Trend: contrast crumb

2026 trend

Contrast crumb

Crusty outside, pillow inside—tangzhong for a soft interior with a leaner, higher-hydration main dough for more bite at the crust.

Fine-tune your dough

Optional—dial in softness, openness, sugar, fat, and Pro-level parameters.

Skip if the crumb goal already looks right.

ChewySoft
Tight crumbOpen crumb

Sugar and fat soften the crumb and help enriched loaves stay fresh longer. Usually enrichments will require longer fermentation time as they absorb water.

12%
7.5%

Your bake plan

Ingredients and a clock-time schedule starting now.

Total Flour
0g
Wheat
0g
Est. Rise
--

Starter

    Main Dough

      Bake schedule

      Times are estimates — dough readiness beats the clock.

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      How to Use This Bake Planner

      This free sourdough bake planner helps you create a recipe, generate a clock-time bake schedule, run an active bake with optional reminders, and document results with notes and photos. Choose your bread style (Super Soft Tangzhong, Classic Sandwich, or Artisan), then set leavening to sourdough or yeast. Sliders control loaf weight, room temperature, whole wheat, hydration, and optional sugar and fat—weights update in real time from baker’s percentages.

      For sourdough, pick a leaven style (liquid, stiff, or sweet stiff) and a feed ratio that matches your starter. Use Copy Recipe to share the formula, or Start baking to track stages, enable reminders when a step runs long, and save the bake to My Loaf. Everything stays in your browser.

      Learn more about schedules and bake reminders and sourdough note taking in My Loaf. For starter care, tangzhong, hydration, and crumb texture, see our Guides.

      Recipe Copied!

      Recipe details

      75°F
      900g
      20%
      18%

      Affects Rise Time

      1:2

      Seed : Flour

      71%

      Standard Soft

      12%
      7.5%
      Total Flour
      0g
      Wheat Flour
      0g
      Est. Rise
      --
      Texture Prediction
      Likely texture: balanced and versatile

      Main drivers: formula is near the middle ranges for softness and openness.

      Softness0
      Openness0
      Chewiness0

      Prediction only: flour strength, mixing, fermentation, and shaping can change the final crumb.

      1. Starter

      Sweet Stiff

      Details...

        3. Main Dough

        Mix everything.

          Process Guide

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          My Loaf

          Stored locally in your browser.

          Saved & completed

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          Recipe Collection

          Editors Choice

          Handpicked recipes and guides curated by our team.

          More in our Guides: starter, tangzhong, hydration, bread texture, and how to use the calculator →

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          A traditional sourdough recipe with a perfect balance of tangy flavor and open crumb structure.

          24h Intermediate

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          4h Beginner

          Whole Wheat Sourdough

          A nutritious whole wheat sourdough with 50% whole grain for a hearty, nutty flavor.

          20h Advanced

          Trending Recipes

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          Bake Details

          Recipe Details

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          Baking Notes

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