Skip to main content
Sourdough.mu

Timing tool

Bulk Fermentation Timer

Dough temperature and levain amount in, an honest bulk window out, and a timer that remembers when you started even if you close the tab. Built to stop the two classic tropical mistakes: trusting a European recipe clock, and forgetting the dough entirely.
27 C

Stick a thermometer in the dough if you can; dough runs warmer than the room after mixing.

Levain in the dough

As a percentage of flour weight. More levain, faster bulk.

Estimated bulk window

At 27 C with 20% levain, expect roughly 3.25 to 4.5 hours to a 50-75% rise.

Typical Mauritian kitchen warmth: expect the short end of every recipe range you read online.

End bulk on the DOUGH, not the clock: 50-75% rise in a straight-sided jar, domed edges, set-jelly jiggle, bubbles on the surface.

Sources

  1. Sourdough bulk fermentation guide The Perfect LoafThe 50-75% rise target and the aliquot-jar method.
  2. Bulk fermentation explained King Arthur Baking CompanyTemperature as the main lever on bulk time.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-16

Before the bulk

A strong bulk starts with a starter at peak: plan the feed with the Starter Calculator and check your dough math with the Baker's Percentage tool.

Bulk fermentation is where loaves are won

Bulk fermentation, the stretch between mixing and shaping, is where flavour and structure are actually built. Underdo it and the loaf is dense; overdo it, which is the default mistake in a warm climate, and the dough turns slack, sour and impossible to shape. The window between the two shrinks as the temperature climbs.

The estimate here uses the two levers that matter most, dough temperature and levain percentage, and hands you a window rather than a deadline. The real instrument is an aliquot jar: a small straight-sided jar with a marked sample of dough, where a 50 to 75 percent rise is far easier to judge than in a big bowl. Start the timer when you finish mixing, and let the jar have the final word.