Betty is sooo back.

Baking sourdough bread at home can be both rewarding and a little challenging, especially when working with an active starter like Betty. From my personal experience, maintaining the right starter hydration and fermentation times greatly impacts the final bread texture and flavor. For instance, using filtered water at a warm temperature helps activate the wild yeast effectively, making the dough behave better during bulk fermentation. I find giving the dough a proper fermentolyse period of 30 minutes before adding salt helps develop gluten strength naturally. Salt slows fermentation, so adding it after this period balances flavor and structure. The stretch and folds as well as coil folds are crucial techniques I use to build dough tension without overworking. These folds also create an open crumb structure that is soft yet chewy. Cold proofing the shaped dough in the fridge overnight really enhances the flavor complexity and makes scoring easier. One tip is to preheat your Dutch oven for a full hour at 475°F before baking — this ensures optimal heat retention and steam generation when you bake covered at 450°F. Removing the lid for the last phase of baking crisps the crust beautifully. Throughout my baking journey, I've learned that patience and observation are key. Every starter and kitchen environment is different, so slightly adjusting fermentation times according to dough behavior helps achieve consistent results. Following this recipe with Betty as the starter will surely help bread enthusiasts create delicious, bakery-quality sourdough at home.