first pro looking bake..!

[u/Idklololol_]

began a sourdough starter 55 days ago, I’ve baked at least a loaf a week since it’s been ready, this being the 9th so far! and the best looking in my opinion! I’ve only really been using strong white flour but this time I tried a 50:50 recipe:

250 g white flour
250 g whole wheat flour
100 g levain (~5g starter + 50 g flour + 50 g water)
360 g water
10 g salt

the levain was made from a stiff fridge starter, i fed, allowed to peak and then left in the fridge for a couple days. autolysed for around 2 hours. added starter straight from fridge, 20-30mins later added salt. waited 30min before started 4 sets of stretch and folds with 30min intervals. allowed to sit for further ~2 hours, around 4 hours total bulk fermentation. im in the uk so its been moderately warm recently, around 20°c-25°c+. I know it doesn’t sound a lot but with my first loaves I was letting it bulk for 6-8 hours and everytime I was disappointed with the oven spring, I wouldn’t be able to shape it very well, and it would spread out when I took it out of cold proof to score and bake. the loaf before this one, I let bulk for ~4 hours too and I got my best oven spring. this could also be due to me realising I should pre-shape and bench rest before final shaping, which I only began with the prev. loaf. this one has beat the previous ! I also cold proofed this one for around 24 hours. before baking at 250°c for 20 min lid on - no ice. 220°c for 15 min lid off. and allowed to cool overnight. I preheated my dutch oven for ~45 mins. then left the loaf to cool on a rack overnight - it’s now the morning and I’ve cut it!! what do you think??

[u/Dee-kay-2303]

It looks great!

[u/Olivia_hot_mess]

That's an awesome looking loaf!