Set the timer to 73 minutes

How to use the online timer

Bread dough that needs an overnight prove often calls for 73 minutes in a cool spot, and a timer takes the guesswork out of when it's ready to shape. Set it once you've covered the bowl, check the dough near the end rather than constantly, and trust the number over how it looks late at night. Good bread rewards the kind of patience a clock keeps better than you do.

Using it is as simple as it sounds: hit Start and the countdown takes over from there. Keep the browser tab open while it runs, since the timer only keeps counting while the page stays loaded, and pause or reset it any time if your plans change. When time's up, a sound plays to let you know, so you don't need to keep glancing at the screen.

A kitchen timer only works in the kitchen, and a phone timer competes with texts, calls, and every other app fighting for your attention. Keeping the countdown in a browser tab sidesteps both problems: it goes wherever your laptop or phone goes, and it isn't trying to notify you about anything else. Minimise it, work on something else, and it'll be counting when you check back. Set a timer for 73 minutes, set the timer to 73 minutes, start a 73 minutes timer — it is the same countdown either way.