How did the dough feel when you were making it? Dry, tacky or sticky?
I would say tacky! My starter is also a month and a half old. This is what my loaves look like on the outside
I think all in all thatās a very decent loaf indeed! Looks good. Does it taste good? Are you happy with it? Did you include an autolyse which might help further improve it?
Tacky is a good approximation. One can go higher if one is able to handle it.
Iām actually celiac so I canāt it haha but I just make it for my husband and because itās fun to bake. I mix the starter with warm water first, then I add the flour and mix with my hands until shaggy and I let it sit for 30 minutes. Then I add in 10grams salt with a tiny bit of warm water, mix that in and let it sit for 15 minutes, and then I do coil folds!
I guess what Iām trying to achieve is a more even crumb instead of the few odd big holes!
At a little over 70% hydration and all bread flour you should be able to do this. Itās all in the handling. Have you ever tried slap and folds? That produces a very nice crumb.
Iāve tried it once but maybe Iāll try it again! Would I do that instead of stretch and folds?
Yes, slap and folds till the dough is nice and strong. Itās interesting as it begins to get strong but then seems to come apart again but carry on and it builds up strength again. Then leave to bulk ferment till doubled.
Thank you!! Iāll have to give that a try!!
Proofed todayās loaf a wee bit longer and my crumb looks better than my last loaves! At least I think haha. Is the crumb supposed to be on the moist side? Almost a little tacky?? I donāt want to say itās gummy, but definitely doesnāt feel like commercial bread. Just not sure if Iām underproofing! I did wait 5 hours before cutting into it as well. Internal temp was 220F so itās definitely cooked all the way through! The big holes almost look kind of shiny
Hi Benny,
Have been tweaking the recipe and playing around with the fermentation time.
500g Bob mills artisan flour
380g water
100g starter
10g salt
5 coil folds and Bulk fermented at 76F for 5hours and 45mins. Cold retard for 16 hours in the fridge.
Baked at 500F in covered cast iron bread pan for 20 mins. Removed lid and dropped temp to 390F for 25 mins.
I had used King Arthur bread flour for this second loaf and used the exact same timeline and fold etc. but I definitely think I could have pushed Bulk fermentation more to make the crumb more even, would you agree?
So Intersting to see how different brands turn out with the same method 
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Hi Laura, youāre doing so well! That first one has a spectacular crumb if you were going for open crumb that is. Based on the crumb and the fact that you followed exactly the same formula and proceedure, Iām guessing that KA bread flour has higher gluten than Bobās. Thus with more gluten you could have done one or two things Increase the hydration a tad, Iād only increase 1-2% at a time so you donāt overshoot and/or ferment a bit longer. Again youāll just want to do a bit more to test so you donāt suffer an over fermentation and a flat loaf.
Benny
WOW! Thank you for the feedback Benny, that means a lot coming from you!
Yes, definitely was going for an open crumb. I feel like I can achieve this more when I make individual loaves. I tried to make 4 loaves in one bulk batch, granted I did have a higher hydration and did overproof (80% hydration, 76F and bulk fermented for 7.5 hours- way too long, it was much harder to shape so I knew I over did it). With this loaf specially I preformed the last coil fold 30 mins before shaping so I didnāt pre shape. Does pre-shaping usually degass the dough more, resulting in a tighter crumb?
Thereās so much information out on the web regarding preshaping so Iām always torn on wether to do it or not 
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I seldom make more than one loaf at a time. Preshaping is needed when making multiple loaves so no way to get around that. The more dough is handled, the more degassing occurs. So yes in general you may have a more closed crumb if you have to preshape. However, you can overcome that somewhat by preshaping earlier in bulk and make up for that time with a longer final proof. That way the dough is still fully fermented, but you give the dough some time to compensate a bit for the extra handling of preshaping.
Amazing, that was my hunch. For myself, I generally make one at a time but when baking for friends I tried out bulk and thatās where I noticed the difference. Also tried to skip the pre shape and that was a TERRIBLE idea 
Thank you for all your help, Benny!
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Youāre very welcome Laura.
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