Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough
I know many TFLers have made Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough, but this will be my 1st time. I've owned Hamelman's book for less than a month and the only thing I've tried so far was the Irish Soda Bread. I'm going to use one of my Reinhart starters, both of which are made according the the formula in WGB (one is WW the is white)--LindyD thought that would work fine. But Hamelman's methods are a little confusing to me, so I thought I'd put this post out for comment on and/or correction!
I'm going to make the liquid levain this afternoon and let it stand overnight.
Tomorrow, will be mixing. I'll add the levain to the remaining ingredients, mix it together briefly, and let it undergo autolyse for about an hour, put in the salt, and mix again.
All the above seems fairly straightforward, but the bulk fermentation phase is a little confusing. So everything is mixed up and then right away I do one stretch & fold, wait 50 minutes, do another stretch and fold, and then wait until 2 1/2 hours is up?
Then I shape and do the final fermentation in the refrigerator for up to 18 hours.
Baking: It goes straight from the refrigerator to the oven? No wake up time?
Thanks, in advance, for any help.
--Pamela