Loaf 2

This time I used the "official" NYT version. Actually I used one where Mr. Bittman provided weights in grams. I prefer to cook by weight. Not sure if it makes a difference in reality, but it makes me feel as if there is consistency. And if something needs adjustment I can add a few more ounces of this or that and determine what the effect is.

So I weighed out the ingredients and let the dough sit for 18 hours. My kitchen is probably not consistently 70 degrees. It's between 60 and 70. I kept the bowl in the microwave oven to avoid drafts.

Again, I heavily floured a board and poured the dough onto it to fold. "Heavily" is an understatement - I put a ton of flour on the board as I was afraid it would stick, given the extra water. It folded fine. I then put it in the smaller bowl on top of floured parchment paper, covered it with parchment paper, and covered the parchment paper with a towel. I was still concerned that the dough would rise and touch the towel, and felt the upper layer of parchment paper would prevent it. In actuality the bowl is deep enough that the dough does not touch the top.

After the 2 hour rise, I lifted the dough out of the bowl, brushed off the extra flour as best I could and dropped it into the dutch oven.

The result was gorgeous. Deep brown, crisp "shattering" crust, just as Mr. Bittman described. The bottom crust is a little hard. The crust tastes great, but the bread, although tastier than the first loaf, was still a little bland. The NYT recipe had more salt than the first one, so maybe that's why it's tastier. But the crumb needs a little sourdough flavor.

Appearance-wise, this is the most beautiful bread I have ever baked. The crust is deep dark brown, flecked with flour, the crumb is full of wholes and has a sheen that I didn't realize was even possible. All it needs is a little more taste.

(one odd thing - the heavy flouring I gave the board turned up in the bread. Along the seams inside the crumb where I folded the dough there was a thin layer of uncooked flour. It didn't detract from our enjoyment of the bread but I've got to go lighter on flouring the board.)