High-Hydration Open Crumb Batard

Mix the flour and 385g water until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest a full hour. Wetter dough needs the extra time to hydrate evenly.

Add the starter and the salt dissolved in the remaining 25g water. Squeeze and fold the dough in the bowl for 3 to 4 minutes until it comes together. It'll feel loose and slack. That's correct for this hydration. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

Wet your hands. Lift the dough gently from the center, letting the ends fold underneath as it stretches. Rotate the bowl and repeat on the other side. Do five sets, 30 minutes apart. The dough will tighten noticeably between sets even though it stays soft.

Let the dough sit at 75°F for 3 to 5 more hours, until it's grown by about half again and the surface looks glossy and full of small bubbles. High hydration dough can look deceptively slack even when it's ready, so go by the rise and the bubbles, not by how firm it feels. It'll move faster in summer heat, slower in a cold kitchen.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter using a wet bowl scraper. Shape it gently into a loose round without knocking too much gas out. Rest, uncovered, 20 minutes.

With wet hands, shape into a batard by folding the sides in and rolling it away from you into a log. Place seam-side up in a rice-floured banneton. Cover and refrigerate 10 to 16 hours. The longer cold rest helps a wet dough firm up enough to score and handle well.

Heat your Dutch oven, lid on, at 500°F for a full hour.

Turn the cold dough onto parchment. Score at a fairly shallow angle, since a deep score on wet dough can cause a blowout somewhere else on the loaf instead. Bake covered at 500°F for 20 minutes, then uncovered at 450°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until deeply browned. Cool at least 90 minutes before cutting. This crumb needs the extra time to set.