No banneton; used scissors to score ✂️

When I started out, I got so much FOMO because I felt like I didn’t have the right tools to make the “perfect” loaf. As a beginner, I’m glad that I stuck with a low-hydration loaf because I’m able to make such lovely bread now—and I’m super proud of today’s results! (Today’s my seventh attempt at sourdough!)

I haven’t cut the bread in the first photo yet because I want to get a good picture with something that I’ve worked on for over 24 hours now. That will be a morning photo… The second photo is same dough, different loaf. I got too hungry because I hadn’t had dinner, so I ate the less attractive bread 1 hour after baking. (Poor shaping, looks like a misshapen cloud…)

I did a mini preshape for ~5 min until I got impatient and shaped them and placed them in my makeshift banneton knockoffs (metal mixing bowls). I scored with scissors by cutting along the dough vertically at an angle. It’s all about the process, rather than the tools, albeit I’d still consider buying a banneton after this because I want my bread to have a consistent shape.

Materials: 65% hydration dough (+/-325 g of water, 500 g of KA bread flour, 9 g of salt, 100 g of starter)

Steps:
(1) Mixed on the stand mixer until dough got shiny and had a windowpane after 3 min of rest.
(2) Did a round of folds every hour for 4 hours, bulk fermented for 10 hours @ 22C/73F. I used the aliquot method, so I went to sleep and checked on it after 10 hours and it more than doubled!
(3) Stuck into the refrigerator without shaping for 12 hours.
(4) Took the dough out and let it rise for 15 minutes. Shaped it and placed it in a metal bowl because I don’t have a banneton. Put it back into the freezer.
(5) Preheated oven @ 475F with dutch oven inside. After thirty minutes of preheating, start baking—30 min with lid @ 475F, 20 min without lid @ 425F.