@tre What's your entire process? Got a beerfest this weekend and I'm making a sourdough necklace.
Make sure you starter is good and active.
-make the levain the night before -mix 50g bread flour and 50g whole wheat flour with 100g water and about 2 tbsp active starter in a medium bowl. Cover with a towel and leave overnight
-in the morning, in a large metal or glass bowl, put 750g warm water. Add 100g of the levain and stir to distribute. Add 900g bread flour and 100g whole wheat flour and mix well. Cover with a towel for 40 minutes.
-sprinkle 20g fine sea salt over dough, and incorporate it with wet hands. Cover with a towel for 30 minutes
-with wet hands, fold the dough - grab a handful from the side furthest from you, and stretch it up and over. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat 3 times. Cover for 30 minutes. Repeat every half hour for 3-4 hours, up to6 hours. This depends on your kitchen’s temperature and humidity. In winter here, I set the bowl on a low heating pad to speed up this process (bulk fermentation).
-lightly flour countertop and put out dough. Sprinkle with flour. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough in two, you can weigh it if you like. Shape the dough using the bench scraper into a round shape. Sprinkle each half lightly with flour and cover with a towel.
-Shape the dough. Flip the dough over using a bench scraper. Stretch the side furthest from you away from you, then up and over. Do the same with the two sides, then the side closest you. Place into a banneton floured with 50% white rice flour and 50% wheat flour. Cover and put in the fridge for 12-48 hours. (You can shape into either oval or round shape depending on your banneton and cooking vessel shape)
-preheat oven and cast iron Dutch oven and lid to 500F. I use an oval Dutch oven for oval loaves, or a Lodge cast iron combo cooker for round loaves.
-score the dough - invert the dough from the banneton onto a counter (or onto a parchment). With a razor blade, slash the dough slowly, about 3/4” deep on a 45 degree angle about 2/3 across the dough from from front to back.
-place dough into heated Dutch oven, cover, lower temp to 450F and cook for 20 min. Remove cover and cook for an additional 18-20 minutes. Reheat oven and Dutch oven and lid to 500 and repeat for 2nd loaf.