A Mistake Makes Good...,
My regular bake went off without a hitch till just before the buzzer went off and my wife said, "You left the oven on convection!"..., Yep! The oven was at 450 dF AND convection. Flinging the door open half expecting to see a charcoal loaf revealed one of the most perfectly baked loafs I've ever done. What's more the crust had the depth and chewy crunchiness so admired in SFSD bread.
It seems that a loaf baked under cloche for the first 15 or so minutes then baked at 450 dF with the convection fan on produces a deeply carmelized crust that retains chewiness. And the crumb was just right. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture before the raiding marauders got to it (dropin guests). The bread was baked using a cloche for the first 17 minutes. the dough was placed on a cooking stone with a baking parchment separator. The cloche and parchment were removed after 17 minutes and the baking finished at 450 dF and convection on.
+Wild-Yeast