Pan de Cristal — Timing by Kitchen Temperature

The full Pan de Cristal schedule (76°F baseline)

Pan de Cristal is a hearth-style sourdough from Spain (Catalonia). From a ripe levain to a cooled loaf it runs about 6.6 h of dough-day time on top of a ~5-hour levain build. Every duration below is the 76°F baseline — scale it with the temperature table lower down for your own kitchen.

A sample same-day clock plan

One realistic way to fit Pan de Cristal around a normal day, at ~76°F. Shift the whole thing earlier or later to suit — only the gaps between stages matter.

• 7:00 AM — feed the levain (peaks in ~5 h).
• 12:00 PM — Autolyse.
• 12:30 PM — Mix.
• 12:45 PM — Bulk fermentation with stretch-and-folds.
• 4:45 PM — Pre-shape & bench rest.
• 5:09 PM — Final shape.
• 5:18 PM — Final proof.
• 6:18 PM — Bake.
• 6:38 PM — loaf out of the oven; cool at least 1 hour before slicing.

Reading each stage by feel

The clock is a guide; the dough is the real timer. Levain is ready at its peak — domed and just starting to recede, floating in water. Bulk is done at a 50–75% rise with a bubbly, jiggly, domed mass — under-shooting gives a tight crumb, over-shooting a slack, gummy one. Proof is judged by the poke test: a slow, partial spring-back. Watch a warm kitchen closely here — the 1 h room proof shortens fast above 78°F.

Temperature × time table

Calculator pre-set to Pan de Cristal

Pan de Cristal timing — FAQ