Bacon Bread

Well.... today I baked FWSY's levain bacon bread. I'm frustrated by not knowing how to deal with his times - as many have said before me, his times are just too far off for the home baker. I decided to compensate by having bulk fermentation develop in the fridge overnight rather than at room temperature. After my final stretch and fold, I placed the bread in the fridge for about 13 hours, then on the counter for about 3, shaped and left the boules to proof for about an hour and then backed in a DO. The flavour was fine, but not great. The crust was very nice, but not as dark brown as I would have expected (even with 24 minutes lid off). The crumb was ok, but not as open as I'd like. But then I decided to toast a slice and HOLY COW. Gotta love bacon! While the taste isn't as complex or developed as I would expect from a levain bread - mostly due to my experimentation in the fridge - the crust has a great chew and the bacon flavours come through in spades!! Now, one more sleep until I get to toast a slice and top it with a pan fried egg. I'm almost giddy with anticipation! I love bread! :)