Making time for Real Bread

I work from home a few days a week, one perk of which is that there isn’t any commuting. This means that I’ve gained hours either side of my working day to pursue my hobby, for which I consider myself extremely lucky.

I’ve always been a keen cook but, like many other people, my interest in bread making stemmed from the lockdowns of 2020. I was `juggling the demands of parenting and working remotely, while trying to keep things relatively normal with everything going on in the world. I was at home with my wife and daughter, and not only did we need something to keep us busy but I also wanted to be prepared for any supplies shortages that could stem from panic buying in the supermarkets. Making bread seemed a natural thing to do.

My first few bakes were okay, but I knew I could do better. The year before, I’d started a blog to keep my recipes on. This was going to be aimed at dads who liked to cook but didn’t know how. I had the option to expand this to bread recipes and Dad What Cooks was born. This would be my place to journal all my successful bakes and share with others who wanted to try.

A few years on and the bread making bug had really taken hold, and I was baking every week for family and friends. I knew there was more to learn so I took an in-person baking class, which helped to fill some gaps left by online tutorials. My next challenge was to find time around my full-time job to bake. I was sure that, if I timed it right, there would be a way. I started by looking at the free time I had around my typical work hours of 8:30am to 5pm with half an hour for lunch. 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

I found that the proving times of bread made with baker’s yeast were quite short, though would vary depending on the ambient temperature at different times of year. I prepared all of the ingredients (weighing flour, water, salt, yeast etc. depending on the recipe, into separate bowls) at breakfast time, before work. I’d also get the mixer out and have everything ready to go. 

I could then mix all of the ingredients, and grease the bread tin, during my lunch break and leave the dough to rise. A quick afternoon tea break allowed me to shape the dough and place in the tin for a second prove, while the kettle boiled. Baking after I finished work at 5pm meant fresh bread for sandwiches and toast the next day. If the day happened to be quite warm, or things were rising too quickly, I would use the fridge to slow down the process. It comes down to trial and error and, after a few times, you get the hang of it.

Between Prue and me

When I bake with Prue (my sourdough starter), I treat ‘her’ as I would any living creature, which need constant care, attention, feeding and watering. Sourdough bread making is still manageable during the course of a working day, though things do become more time consuming.

The key to a good sourdough bread is an active starter. I would usually feed my starter before work, as I know it takes Prue around four hours to get to the point where she becomes ready to use. As before, I weight out all of the other ingredients and get the equipment ready. At lunchtime, I again pile everything in the mixer for a few minutes. At this point, I have to be pragmatic, balancing available time with traditional methods. I’m sure there will be people shouting at this article regarding my lack of stretches and folds but I’m on limited time during my lunch break, so I use the mixer to do this bit.

Once mixed, I cover the dough and get on with my work while it rises. This dough gets left until the evening and, when it’s ready, I shape it and place it in the fridge for an overnight cold prove. This gives me the option of baking first thing when I get up at 6am, or  leaving it until that evening to bake – whichever suits. Admittedly the sourdough process involves more time and effort, but this is all part of the joy, in my opinion.

With careful timing, planning and preparation you can fit these things around your work if you are home-based. 

@dadwhatcooks

If you don’t work from home, maybe a ‘mix at breakfast time, shape at lunchtime, bake in the evening with dinner’ routine could work for you on the weekend, or other day off. Try our bag o’ bread recipe. [ed.]

---

Originally published in True Loaf magazine issue 62, April 2025.

Got something to share?
See YOUR words in print , my baker’s dozen and my favourite bakery.