**This is my 5th attempt.**

**Dough 68% hydration** 

	**•**	200 g starter (100% hydration)  
	**•**	350 g bread flour  
	**•**	207 g water  
	**•**	9 g salt

**Starter build (two-stage levain)**

	**•**	15 g mature starter  
	**•**	100 g flour total (15 g + 85 g)  
	**•**	100 g water total (15 g + 85 g)

**Day 1 — Morning: Starter Build**

	**1.**	Took the starter out of the fridge in the morning.  
	**2.	First build:** Mixed 15 g starter + 15 g flour + 15 g water. Let sit \~6 hours.  
	**3.	Second build:** Added 85 g flour + 85 g water to the above, yielding \~215 g starter. Mixed and let sit \~6 hours, until doubled.  
	**4.**	Put the built starter into the fridge overnight.

**Day 2 — Mixing and Bulk Ferment**

	**5.**	Took the starter out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for \~1 hour before use.  
	**6.	Autolyse:** Mixed the flour and water for a few minutes, then rested 20 minutes.  
	**7.**	Added the 200 g starter and mixed on low in a KitchenAid stand mixer for \~2 minutes.  
	**8.**	Added the salt and mixed another \~1 minute.  
	**9.**	Increased speed and mixed \~4 minutes to knead.  
	**10.**	Transferred to an oiled container.  
	**11.	Folds:** A combination of stretch-and-folds and business letter folds every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours.  
	**12.	Bulk ferment:** A further \~4.5 hours after the folds were complete — roughly 6.5 hours of bulk fermentation in total, counting the 2 hours of folds.

**Bulk ferment readiness checks:**

	**•**	Dough roughly doubled in size  
	**•**	Small air bubbles appearing on the surface  
	**•**	Pulling away cleanly from the sides of the bowl  
	**•**	Jiggly, marshmallow-like texture  
	**•**	Noticeably less sticky to the touch

**Day 2 — Shaping and Cold Retard**

	**13.**	Shaped into a bâtard.  
	**14.**	Placed into a banneton and proofed \~2 hours. It didn't double again, but grew noticeably.  
	**15.**	Into the fridge overnight.

**Day 3 — Bake**

	**16.**	Preheated cast iron loaf pan **with lid** at **450°F** for 30 minutes.  
	**17.**	Took the dough straight from the fridge onto a bread sling and scored it.  
	**18.**	Lowered the dough into the hot pan, gave it a couple of squirts of water, and put the preheated lid on.  
	**19.	Covered:** 25 minutes at 450°F.  
	**20.	Uncovered:** Removed the lid and baked a further 18 minutes.  
	**21.**	Rested almost 1 hour before slicing.

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