After having conversations with both Scary Yankee Chick and Broken Clay, I decided to start weighing my ingredients.
> After 30 minute Autolyze.
> After adding the last 50g of water and salt. This dough is much more wet than my previous versions.
> Then shape and bench rest for 30 minutes.
> Final Shaping and Proofing for 2-3 hours.
Prior to now I was using measuring cups and texture. Also the recipe I've been using was written by someone living in the US mid-Atlantic region, which is a much lower altitude and more humid environment than Colorado.
I remember my mother making bread when I was a kid. She used commercial yeast, but she also always made adjustments to baked goods when we lived in the Rocky Mountains at an altitude of 10,000 ft.
While our current altitude is closer to 5000 ft on the Colorado Front Range and I have not been making adjustments to cakes or cookies, but I figure bread might be more sensitive... and perhaps the weighing of ingredients normalizes the amount of moisture in the ingredients...?
I decided to use Broken Clay's method. Her bread is extremely good... and since she and I are in the same region, we are baking at a similar altitude and humidity.
> Combining Initial Ingredients; starter, flour, water.
> The next step is to proof the dough for 30 minutes then do 4 stretch-and-folds, turning the bowl 1/4 turn between, for 3-4 hours.
>> After 30 minutes.
>> After 1 hour.
>> After 1:30.
>> After 2:00.
>> After 2:30.
>> After 3:00.
> After 3:30. The dough is supposed to be "billowy" by now. I wouldn't call this billowy, but there is air in the dough. It's been a cool day, so perhaps not the best for rising bread and certainly my stretch-and-fold method needs practice.
> I don't have a Dutch Oven, Baking Stone, or Bread Peel so I'm using a Silicon Mat dusted with Corn Meal in a Jelly Roll Pan along with a small ramekin of water.
> Bake at 500F for 20 minutes, then reduce to 450F for 30-40 minutes, but I removed at 20 minutes. Previously I was baking at 350F the entire time.
This method certainly requires more attention than my previous method. However, there is less kneading and less flour used.
This bread is significantly better than my previous attempts... better in flavor, color, and texture. I can't wait to try again!
References: Scary Yankee Chick's Method.
