Today, I've worn my permanent smile with my chin up and chest out. I decided around 10am that I wanted to bake a loaf of bread today. No cold proofing, just a same day bake. I stuck with what I knew as far as my recipe goes (165g starter, 400g water, 15g sea salt and 650g bread flour). I mixed by hand in the bowl as always then kneaded by hand for 10 minutes. After about an hour, I did stretch and folds 30 minutes apart for a total of 4 sets. I let it bulk ferment on the counter until about 6pm... it was full of bubbles, doubled in size, slightly tacky though not sticky and it pulled from the sides of my container easily. I then laminated it, flipped it over and shaped it. I popped it into the cast iron, did a quick and simple score then covered it and into the oven to bake. The oven was preheated to 475°, I let it bake covered for 35 minutes, reduced heat to 450° and baked for an additional 25 minutes. I LOVE the look of the crumb structure, I like that the color is more uniform and that the bottom isn't as dark (I put a baking sheet on the bottom rack to help with that). My personal issues with it is obviously the scoring for one. Because it wasn't cold from the refrigerator, it felt like a race against time to get it scored and into the oven quickly. Second is the texture... I feel it's still slightly gummy, though I feel that it has greatly improved in that aspect too. Of course, the sour flavor was less noticeable, however, I really enjoyed the taste of this one maybe more so than the others. I think that going forward, I will adjust my schedule to reduce my cold proofing for a milder sour flavor. Overall, I'm proud of myself and this bake.

Hoping this is how it's done. Would love a score on this loaf. I used the Reset Recipe from the classroom, totally as written. Not perfect, but I am so very pleased with the result. The crust may seem a little light, but I purposely left it covered the entire bake, hubby does not like a tough, thick crunchy crust.

That was so much fun! Thanks to everyone who participated! Let's do it again! And congrats to our certified bakers, new members, and our baker of the month @Suzie Cain !

Same recipe... 165g starter, 400g water, 15g sea salt and 650g bread flour. Mixed by hand, kneaded 10 minutes, allowed to rest 1 hour before completing 4 sets of stretch and folds 30 minutes apart. Bulk fermented roughly 9 hours at 72°. Shaped then placed into a bowl lined with a lightly floured tea towel. Allowed another hour on the counter before placing it in the refrigerator to cold proof overnight. Preheated oven to 500°, removed bread loaf from refrigerator, scored (I attempted a pretty bee design, however, it did what it does in the oven) then baked in parchment lined DO covered for 10 minutes, reduced heat to 475° and baked 25 minutes, uncovered, reduced heat to 450° and baked 25 minutes. Turned oven off and allowed bread to remain in oven an additional 5 minutes. Cooled at room temperature for 2 hours before cutting. Photos included are of dough when I decided to shape, beautifully browned crust with an equally beautiful ear, bottom crust and inside when cut.

Today, I baked a BEAUTIFUL loaf of sourdough. This time, I baked in a cast iron (similar to a DO, (extra deep cast iron) with a sheet pan over it because I don't currently own a true DO). I'm finding that I am not a super huge fan of this baking method. It was pretty, it has a good ear, nice oven spring as far as I can tell. My only issue is that the crumb is still a little more gummy than I would like for it to be. I know that a homemade sourdough bread is NEVER going to be exactly like fresh bakery bread, however, I know there has to be something more than this. I loved the look of the crust. I used the same recipe as the last few... 165g starter, 400g water, 15g sea salt and 650g bread flour. I kneaded by hand for 10 minutes, bulk fermented for 9 hours on the counter in a 72° kitchen (was 50- 60% raised) and cold proofed overnight in refrigerator. Opinion please... the only thing I did different was the cooking vessel. Preheated to 500°, reduced to 475° when bread went in, baked covered for 35 minutes with steam pan on bottom rack then removed lid, baked 25 minutes at 450°.