my best loaf ever

mixed 350g water, 100g starter, 500g bread flour, 10g salt together

3 rounds of stretch and folds, 30 minutes between each round, with the last round being coil folds

bulk fermented for 7 hours in a tropical climate, the dough went into the fridge after two hours of bulk fermentation because i had to sleep, the next day i took it out and let it finish proofing on the counter. 7 hours might be a bit inexact because of this, and is just an estimate of actual fermenting time.

shaped and put the dough into a banneton, it sat on the counter for 20 minutes then went into the fridge for about 7 hours before baking.

i did an open bake at 230°C with steam for 40 minutes, then without steam for 15 minutes. i baked the loaf without scoring it for 5 minutes, then took it out and did the expansion score.

the loaf cooled for about an hour before i cut into it (i would recommend waiting more because it was slightly gummy)

the most important thing that i think helped me achieve such success is starter health! i used to neglect my starter a bit and once i started feeding it peak to peak i saw a huge increase in its strength.