Susan's Simple Sourdough 909 - third time lucky

This was my third attempt at this bread and my best result.

I again followed Susan's recipe exactly, except I used a 100% hydration starter rather than a firm one. I used 300 grams of Pam's flour (New Zealand - 11.0% protein). I followed Eric's recommendation to lightly slash once across the top of the bread. Instead of using scissors I used my newly sharpened knife. I think that was good advice about the slashing; thanks Eric.

I retarded the loaf in the fridge for 8 hours. After taking it out of the fridge I let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I baked the loaf for 40 minutes at 190 degrees celsius (fan bake). I used two cookie sheets - one pre-heated in the oven and then the second one with the loaf on it on top of the pre-heated one. I followed Susan's advice and covered the loaf with a pyrex bowl for the first 20 minutes. The oven spring was very good this time.

I was very pleased with the way this loaf turned out. The crust was crispy and slightly blistered. Once again the texture was light, springy and spongy and the flavour was very good with a slightly sour after-taste.