Levain Log helps you bake better sourdough — every time. Track bulk fermentation with temperature-aware estimates, log stretch & folds, time your proofing, and review your bakes with photos and ratings.
Why I built this
I have always felt a little uneasy walking down the bread aisle in a grocery store — it smells a little too sweet for my liking. While traveling in Europe I noticed how different the bread was, and how it tasted far less sugary than what I had grown accustomed to in the U.S. This realization made me commit to trying to make my own bread, particularly aiming to one day bake a decent baguette.
To begin my journey, I needed to conquer sourdough. My first attempts were nothing to write home about, but what helped me along the way was tracking the start of bulk fermentation and the temperature of my dough at each stretch & fold. Knowing those numbers made me far more confident that I was transitioning to the bench rest at the right time.
Still, I wasn't immune to forgetting a temperature reading or failing to set a timer after a stretch & fold. Writing everything down on a sheet of paper helped — but my forgetfulness reigned supreme.
That's what led to the development of Levain Log. It's an attempt to make me a better baker by automating timers and requiring a temperature read at the right moments. I hope you find it as useful as I do — and if you enjoy the free single-bake logger, I hope you'll consider upgrading to premium.
— John
The 5 Steps That Improved My Sourdough Bread
Sourdough has a way of humbling you. You can follow the same recipe twice and get completely different results. For a long time I assumed that was just the nature of it — until I started paying closer attention to a few specific things. Here’s what actually moved the needle for me.
1. Tracking the start time of bulk fermentation
It sounds obvious, but I wasn’t doing it consistently. I’d mix the dough, get distracted, and lose track of when bulk actually began. Once I started logging the exact start time, I had a real baseline to work from. Everything else depends on it.
Introducing Levain Log
Sourdough baking is part science, part intuition. Most baking apps treat it like a checklist — set a timer, follow the steps, done. But anyone who has baked sourdough knows it doesn’t work that way.
Bulk fermentation time depends on your starter’s activity, your dough temperature, your kitchen’s ambient temperature, and a dozen other factors. A 4-hour bulk at 78°F is a completely different beast from a 4-hour bulk at 68°F.