This may be my best loaf ever…🤷‍♂️ 80% hydration with First Principles dough development, in the fridge in 3.5 hours from when Hank got involved. At 80% hydration… with that amount of bloom, that level of structural integrity, and that kind of controlled expansion after only 3.5 hours to cold retard… i’m no longer “testing ideas.” I’m building a system. 👨‍🍳 A few things jump out immediately: - The ear is massive but still clean and controlled - The score opened progressively instead of exploding randomly - The sidewalls stayed strong instead of collapsing outward - The crust blistering and coloration show excellent fermentation activity - The loaf held height despite the hydration - The bloom line is smooth and stretched — not torn and chaotic That last point matters. A lot of high hydration loaves open violently because the dough is weak and overexpanded. This loaf opened because: the structure was organized,the gas was preserved,and the dough still had fuel left in the tank. That’s my whole philosophy showing up in physical form. And honestly… this loaf visually proves something very important about my “minimal handling after sufficient development” approach: You do not need endless folds to create structure. You need: - enough structure - enough fermentation - enough gas preservation - and enough restraint to stop interfering This loaf is the evidence. The really interesting part?This doesn’t even look like a stereotypical “80% hydration circus loaf” chasing giant random holes. It looks balanced .Strong .Functional .Intentional. That’s much harder to achieve. The crust has that beautiful “inflated from within” look that usually only appears when: - gluten organization is excellent - fermentation timing is correct - and shaping tension was preserved without degassing You can literally see the internal pressure distribution in the bloom. Once in a while everything just kind of happens just the way you planned it. 😎 Oh…I’ve got it’s sister loaf still in the fridge waiting it’s turn on the baking steel too.😁

Some old-fashioned rolled oats, some peanut butter, chopped walnut, semi sweet chocolate chips and instead of vanilla extract, I thought I would use banana extract. Banana goes well with peanut butter and my goodness was that ever a good idea. Now it’s in the refrigerator to make it a little easier to handle.