Bread Proofing Guide & Timer

Your dough

Rule of thumb: rise time roughly halves for every ~15°F (8°C) warmer and doubles for every ~15°F cooler than ~75°F (24°C). Approximate.

Step planner

Pick your bread and yeast above, then set the temperature and hydration. The plan starts now; use “Schedule for later” to pick another date and time. Every step gets clock times. Approximate.

Hydration = water as % of flour weight. Model (approximate): each point wetter than typical shortens rises ~1% (max ±15%); 75%+ switches to coil folds, 78%+ adds a set, 65% or lower uses stretch-and-folds with one fewer set.

Why this bread proofs this way

Bulk fermentation & folds: this bread

Sets and spacing are typical starting points (King Arthur Baking, The Perfect Loaf); stronger flour or lower hydration may need fewer sets. Fold times are fixed, but the bulk time and remainder adjust for your temperature and yeast, and folds are squeezed closer together when bulk gets short. All values are approximate.

Guided fold & bulk timer

Counts down to each fold set, alerts you, then rolls straight into the next interval and finally the rest of bulk. Prefilled from the plan above; adjust as needed.

Uses fixed end times, so it stays accurate in a background tab. If you're away through several steps, it catches up when you return and lists every fold you missed.

Proofing timer

Optional. Clicking asks your browser for permission to show a system notification when the timer ends. Nothing is sent anywhere, and you can say no — the alarm sound and on-page alert work either way. We never ask unless you click.

The timer counts down to a fixed end time, so it stays accurate if you switch tabs. Keep this page open. On phones, a locked screen can pause sounds: when you come back the timer catches up instantly and shows if it finished while you were away. Check the dough at the start of the range — go by the dough, not the clock.

Sources & notes

Times are approximate typical ranges compiled from common home-baking recipes at ~75°F (24°C); flour, hydration, dough size and yeast amount all change them. Doneness cues follow King Arthur Baking's guidance (poke test, 1" over the pan rim, ideal 72–78°F). Bread explanations and step schedules summarize common home-baking practice (stretch-and-folds, cold retard, enriched-dough behavior) and are approximate. Bulk and fold plans follow King Arthur Baking's stretch-and-fold, coil-fold and windowpane guidance and The Perfect Loaf's bulk fermentation guide.