For my first pre-ferment, I tackled Jovial's No-Knead Overnight Artisan Loaf recipe, in which the entire dough (salt included!) is left to sponge for 10–15 hours. I modified the recipe somewhat, subbing instant for active dry yeast and simplifying the baking process, as I don't currently have a banneton or Dutch oven.
Is it a poolish? Is it a biga? No, it's Superman! Maybe it's technically a pâte fermentée since it includes the salt?
In any case, I let the sponge rest for 13 hours, 20 minutes. The Saccharomyces went to town, and I liked the look of the risen sponge, though what do I know? I'm a bear, I suck the heads off fish.
Shaping the dough was harder than expected—I may have over-floured the counter in an attempt to appease the sticky Einkorn gods—and I ended up tearing the surface a little, hence the yawning crevice in the finished loaf. Perhaps that was also the reason for the lopsided dinosaur egg shape? I think it has a certain thrift-store charm, though you might disagree.
Eschewing the Dutch oven instructions, I baked the boule freeform for about 45 minutes at 450°F.
There's a sort of seam or bubble just under the top crust, so the crust falls off easily. I wonder why? But the loaf tastes good. I would have liked the crumb a bit less dense, but it's chewy, and the flavors are certainly more complex and poppy than the straight loafs I've made in the past couple of weeks.
I look forward to future expeditions into the vast jungles of pre-fermentation.