500g White Bread Flour
375g Water
10g Salt
25g Starter right close to peak
Heat water to 76⁰F and mix starter in thoroughly
Combine dry ingredients together then mix in with the water using ⅔ of the flour/salt, mix evenly then add the remaining ⅓, mixing well by hand using rubard. Rest 30 mins. Dough temp is 72⁰F +/- 1⁰F for the duration of bulk fermentation.
Rubard mixing for about 2 mins. Rest 30 mins in the proofer
Stretch and fold on each compass point. Rest 30 mins.
Coil Folds. Rest 30 mins.
Coil Folds and put into measuring vessel to finish bulk fermentation.
Bulk Fermentation cut off as close to 55% as possible (65% is over-proofed for me). About 9 hours since initial mix.
Pre-Shape. Rest 20 mins
Final Shape to batard and put into cold fermenation. 12 hours
Pre-heat oven to 500⁰F with pizza steel and put dough in freezer while oven warms up.
Immediately after oven beeps that it's ready, turn out the dough, score it and put it on the pizza steel. Mist the inside of a large stainless steel mixing bowl and cover the dough.
Turn down the oven to 450⁰F. 25 mins.
Remove the bowl, remember I forgot to put my heat break cookie sheet on the rack under the pizza steel and out that in. Continue baking at 450⁰F for another 25 mins.
Cool on the rack for 90mins before slicing.
Never have been able to get any ear at all before now. I have struggled with pre-shaping, final-shaping and getting the bulk ferment right.
I have reduced starter and lower temps drastically to try and stop over-proofing and in search of the sour notes. It was never drastically over-proofed but slightly over proofed combined with my terrible shaping, it would never spring well and produce an ear.
I am looking for pedantic critical analysis of my crumb. Did I hit the sweet spot? Should I increase or decrease bulk fermentation? FYI those large holes do not continue through the loaf. I am pretty sure it was from shaping. This is by far my best loaf, full stop, its taken me about 30 loaves to get here and all of them have been perfectly tasty just no ear and poor shape. I am super happy with this, but always want to improve.