I’ve been working on consistency with my bake of 100% fresh milled whole wheat sourdough for the last several weeks ( about 4 loaves a weekend since thanksgiving).
I think I’ve got what I want for my family’s basic bread. Soft texture, airy enough crumb, blistered and thin crust. And, importantly, 3 bakes in a row that are about the same. ?
formula: ( with dough mix time equals t-zero)
-12 hrs: refresh refridgerater starter 1:2:2. I use 100% starter
-2 hrs: mix 400 gr flour and 300 gr water until all dry stuff is wet (shaggy mass)
0 hrs: knead well the shaggy mass plus 100 gr refreshed starter. ~300 folds.
+ 0.5 hrs: incorporate 8 gr salt plus a small amount of water to help it dissolve
-fold about every hour. Was not totally consistent with this, but always managed the one at t=1.5 hrs. Room temperature is 70 F
+6 hrs: preshape
+6.5 hrs: final shape, put in fridge
+18 hrs ( approx). : put in covered baker, slash; preheat oven to 475 F, lower heat to 425 once bread is loaded and temp is back to 475. 20 min covered, 15 min uncovered
The picture is after about 30 min cooling, would cut better with a longer wait.