Bread

Generally don’t add all the water at once with the flour and starter. Once you have a soup it’s hard to recover. So add 80% of the water and mix with a clawing action, then add more water gradually. I expect to have a shaggy mess at this stage. Autolyse for 20-45 mins and then stretch out the dough and sprinkle with salt and water. Fold it back on itself and then stretch out and sprinkle with more salt and water. Gently knead for five minutes this is to help get gluten extending but not to knock it back or smash the air out of it.

Leave for 45 mins to an hour and then either stretch and fold in the bowl or I was taught an aerial stretch. Lift dough out of bowl, hold in one hand and let it stretch done with gravity to your other hand and fold it back under itself. And repeat a few times. I find the dough rips less this way. Do 3-5 rounds of rest and then stretch and fold. Waiting for a positive windowpane test before shaping. Generally I do two rounds of shaping. Preliminary one into a boule and leave for 10 minutes. This helps me see if it is holding shape. Then a final shape and drop into a cloth lined proving basket (possibly roll in seeds or flakes before going into proving basket)