My most beautiful loaf in over a year!

100 g starter
360 g water
10 g salt
500 g flour

72% hydration

I’m honestly so proud, this is my most beautiful loaf yet! I started watching @bakingbyluke on TikTok, and it completely changed the game for me. His tips and explanations helped me finally grasp the process, and it shows in the results!

-With a Stand mixer dough hook attachment-autolyse 1 hour – mix 3-4 min on low

-Add starter at peak & salt – mix 3 min low- 3 min on high

• straight to slap and folds on the counter until dough isn’t so sticky about 20-30 – rest on counter covered for 45 min

• 2nd round of slap and folds until dough is soft and strong another 30 ish rounds – cover on counter 45 min

• laminate then into bowl for bulk fermentation house was around 22.5 degrees C

-So Luke says to aim for 40-70% rise for bulk fermentation- lower if it warmer and high if it’s cooler . I aimed for 60 % rise

• shaped into batard and into banneton

• banneton rest of 1-2 hours before putting it into the fridge overnight ( did 1 hour )

Shaping earlier , slap and folds and the banneton rest were the biggest gave changers

You don’t need a stand mixer, everything can be done by hand. But if you have one, you might as well use it! It helped build amazing gluten structure, and after the slap and folds, my sticky dough transformed into a soft, firm, and beautifully smooth dough. I’m so happy with the results