Today’s breads were made with a flour that is easy to handle and shape, because it is nice and strong.

However, in previous bakes I’ve found it slow to increase in volume during the final proof. The breads have just been denser and less open than I think the flour can do, and I think that I’ve been baking too soon and not giving it enough time to properly fill the bannetons.

Today is the first time I’ve got an open crumb with this flour. The trick, it seems was to take it out of the fridge and place in the proofer for 1.5 hours, then back in the fridge to chill before baking.

This bread is about 79% of this flour, 18% whole wheat and 3% vital wheat gluten. Final hydration is about 76% but I start at 70% and increase it with a bassinage step.