Hit my 100th sourdough loaf and finally got a perfect ear

I've been tracking my bakes in a notebook for about 8 months now and loaf number 100 was this past Tuesday. The scoring finally opened up into that nice crispy ear I see in all the photos online. I think it was because I let the dough cold proof for 18 hours instead of my usual 12. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in quality after a certain number of tries?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_bell1d ago

Wait until you hit 150. The dough starts talking to you after that many bakes. Longer cold ferments always gave me better rise but 18 hours might be pushing it for some flours.

kai_webb911d ago

Did your friend accidentally use old bread flour?