Christmas Sourdough Couronne de Bordelaise

The last time I baked one of these was New Year's Day, 2020. Oh, what a blur it's been. How naive we all were back then, no clue what was coming down the pike. Anyway - very pleased that almost four years later I was able to again produce a near perfect couronne. Haven't tasted it yet, waiting for company to arrive and Christmas dinner.

Deets:

• Bread flour: 425 g
• Water: 280 g
• Salt: 9 g
• 100% hydration whole wheat sourdough starter: 50 grams
• 1/8 tsp SAF instant yeast
• [I decided to use 2/3 my usual starter amount and add a small amount of yeast in its stead, as my starter has been a bit sluggish recently].

Christmas Eve:

• 5:00 pm: Mixed water, yeast, starter, flour
• 5:30 pm: add salt, knead a little to distribute it
• 6:00, 6:30, and 7:00 pm stretch and fold, then proof overnight on countertop

Christmas Day

• 7:00 am: turnout, letter fold, bench rest
• 7:30 am: shape into 6 x 101g balls, 1 x 150g ball (a tiny amount of dough left over); roll out the 150 g ball into an 8-inch pizza-like disk, place in rigged-up couronne proofing basket using an 8 & 1/2 inch flattish basket with 2 inch sides and an upturned small ramekin covered with a well-floured kitchen towel. Proof for 1 and 1/2 hours.
• 8:20 am: preheat oven with pizza stone at 450°
• 9:00-9:30: bake until it looks ready, check temp (my thermometer read 208°)
• Take photos and post a forum entry while waiting to eat the couronne.

Instructions on how to assemble a couronne bourdelaise are at the Breadtopia blog: https://breadtopia.com/couronne-bread-ring/