Mixed yesterday and baked this morning. I used a 10 inch bowl lined with a towel as my makeshift banneton. Then used an 11 1/2” diameter metal bowl as my steam cover, which was barely big enough. The loaf expanded right to the edges, making the sides a bit square and the bowl a little hard to remove. Baked covered at 450 for 20 min, uncovered at 450 for 25 min and 425 for 35 min. Will add crumb shots later. This was a challenging and fun bake!

In the realm of artisanal French baking, température de base—literally translating to "base temperature"—is a fundamental mathematical concept used to ensure consistency in the fermentation of your sourdough. Pronounced tahm-pay-rah-tyoor duh bahz, this figure represents the sum of three critical variables: the ambient air temperature, the temperature of the flour, and the temperature of the water. Example Calculation: If you want a Desired Dough Temperature (DDT) of 78°F, here is how you do the math: 1. Start with 240 (This is 78 (DDT) x 3 plus a small buffer). 2. Subtract Room Temp: Let’s say it’s 70°F. (240 - 70 = 170) 3. Subtract Flour Temp: Likely also 70°F. (170 - 70 = 100) 4. Subtract Friction: 2°F for hand mixing. (100 - 2 = 98) Your Result: You should use 98°F water to ensure your dough starts its life at the perfect 78°F. This formula lets you focus on the variable you are most able to control: water temperature. Give this a try the next time the weather is warmer or cooler than is ideal for your dough. And if you are using a mixer, try subtracting 5 or 6 degrees for the friction factor.

Here are some pics of my miche. Since a few folks under proofed, I pushed my bulk fermentation, maybe a tab bit too long. It clearly was too big for my Dutch oven. 🤣🤣🤣 @David Bachman Added my crumb shot. Only change to the recipe - I increased the proof time in the banneton on the counter after final shape by 30 minutes, the instructions stated 75 to 90 minutes. I did 120 minutes total.

I baked two loaves of 1200 g Miche.

Well, she’s tucked in for the night. I’ll see what becomes of her tomorrow morning. Pictures are of the levain, , autolyse, after levain & salt addition, after stretch & fold & first coil fold