3rd successful attempt at sourdough bread

This has got to be the most beautiful loaf I've ever baked yet. After working on this recipe for weeks, I've produced 3 beautiful and tasty loaves so far. But this one's special. This is my first loaf baked in my turbo broiler that had actual oven spring! I've never had oven spring baking loaves in it before.

Covering the top of the loaf with aluminium foil for the first 25 minutes of baking seems to do the trick. Next time, I'm going to attempt another loaf, but scored. Let's see how that fares.

The crumb is mediocre at most. Not too much to be proud of.

As you can see, the crust was covered in corn flakes. I did that because I was proofing it in an oiled bowl, and without it, it would be a sticky mess. Sesame seeds and oatmeal seemed to have worked well, too. Corn flakes gave it a unique look that I really appreciate.

The recipe I'm using is really simple. Just the usual ingredients for sourdough bread: flour, water and salt. The first few loaves I've made were far too overproofed, as I used to follow the method of proofing for an hour before refrigerating then proofing again for another hour before baking. I found that somewhere online and also found out from an online source that it was, indeed, too much proofing.

Ratio:
Flour - 100%
Water - 64%
Salt - 2%
Starter - 10%

Ingredients:
Sourdough starter - 37.5g; 37.5mL 2.54 tbsp
Water - 240g; 240mL; 3/4 cup + 3.36 tbsp
Flour - 375g; 3 cups
Salt - 7.5g; 1.32 tsp

1 - Feed sourdough starter. Let rest for 4-10 hours.

2 - Mix flour and water. Let rest (autolyse) for 1 hour.

3 - Add sourdough starter and salt. Mix and let rest for 1 hour.

4 - Transfer dough onto a work surface. Knead with lightly damp hands and a scraper for 5 minutes.

5 - Transfer dough onto a clean bowl. Let rest for 3-4 hours. Gently stretch and fold dough for 3 times throughout the duration.

6 - Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape as desired. Oil and transfer onto a proofing container. Let rest for 20-30 minutes.

8 - Refrigerate dough for 16-18 hours. Take dough out of fridge immediately before baking.

7 - Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes, covered, then an additional 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees F, uncovered, until crust forms as desired.

8 - Let cool for at least 1 hour.

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It's a recipe I made myself after reading about tons of sourdough breadmaking online. It's nearly a no-fail recipe. I've once over-fermented it as I left it out for 5 hours instead of 4, but it made nearly no difference.

I used 50% whole wheat (wholemeal) and 50% white bread flour.

I don't even have a scale, yet I'm producing consistent results.

What I like about my recipe is that I don't add more flour to it. I lightly wet my hands and use a scraper when kneading. I do the same when shaping, but I roll my dough on seeds or flakes when I finish shaping. It doesn't produce loaves with those white streaks of flour, just as I want it to.

The dough doesn't even stick to the bowl when I proof it! I'm guessing I don't even need a banneton after all. Good thing I found out about this method before deciding to buy an expensive banneton.

Although this is a recipe I'm very confident in, it's not one that I can fit into my busy student schedule (taking 6 hours of my time before retarding). So I'm planning to try Hamelman's sourdough bread recipe, which would take up less of my time if I proofed it in the fridge (3 hours compared to 6 hours).

If anybody reading about this has experience on making that Vermont sourdough recipe, I have some questions for you: 1 - Is it okay to proof the dough in the fridge? 2 - If so, how long should I proof it in the fridge? and; 3 - should I leave it on room temp prior to retarding in the fridge? Just as I do with my recipe?

Feedback would be highly appreciated. Thanks for stopping by!