I am trying the extra-tangy recipe again because the last attempt had so much good flavor. Things I am doing different this time around:
1. I will be using a Dutch oven. As a result of this I will not be dividing the loaf into two as per the recipe, nor will I be forming a bâtard. Instead I am making one large boule and using my round banneton.
2. I set my oven to the bread proof setting but forgot to Start it (set the temp and THEN press the button that says START). Thus it sat for about two hours in a cold oven. Per the recipe I took the dough out and deflated it, put it back into my proofing pot, covering with a damp towel, and this time I did start the oven. The dough has been behaving nicely, but as a result of the mistake I gave it another hour, for a total of six plus, where the recipe calls for five or more. I think this has helped. It is now in the banneton resting in its final rise for the next two hours or so.
3. This will be the first time using a Dutch oven. Thanks to Dave for telling me about gas ovens venting and thus taking away the steam. I will start the oven at 500, and I have seen in videos that say placing the DO in the pre-heated oven before adding the dough to bring the DO up to temp is a good idea. Thoughts? I will be turning my dough out of the banneton directly onto parchment paper which I will use to lift it into the very hot DO. I will then turn the heat down to 475 for the first twenty minutes at which point I will lower the temp to 425 and remove the lid.
So, does this sound like a solid plan? I will also lightly spray the top of the loaf with lukewarm water once I put it in the DO and cut it with the lame.
I just put the dough into the cold dutch oven and put that into a cold oven.
I then turn on the oven and set the temperature I want to bake at. When the oven reaches that temperature, I start my timer for the bake. Usually about half an hour for my rye bread before I take off the cover and bake till done.
I've read that there isn't much difference between doing it that way and putting your dough into a preheated dutch oven, which can be pretty hairy handling 400+ degree pots and covers. I've tried it both ways and didn't see a difference in the breads I bake.
And I think I've cracked the code on this whole bread baking thing. I pre-heated the DO at 500F, lowered the oven temp to 475 and put the dough in the DO to bake for 20 minutes with the lid on. Took the lid off and gave it another twenty. Inside temp of the bread at that point was about 195, so I gave it another ten minutes. Temp went slightly above 205, and this is the result. It's got the perfect color and crispness I've been looking for. I haven't cut into it yet because it's still cooling. More pics later.
If you don't like lowering dough into the DO because it's very hot, you might look at https://breadtopia.com/store/round-cloche/ which is a round, clay baker. They make an oblong one too - https://breadtopia.com/store/breadtopia-cloche-bread-baker-oblong/. The sides are only a couple of inches high so loading things is easier.
Those clay bakers look good. Maybe a purchase for down the road. I wonder if I could fit two of those ovals in the oven at once so I can do two loaves at the same time. I'll have to do some measuring of the oven.
And the inside turned out well too. Good crumb and oven spring, and the taste is really good. Not super tangy, but more flavor than I got from the recipe that doesn't have the overnight retard.