Really Sour Sourdough

I fed the starter last night and then mixed a cup of refreshed starter with 3 cups bread flour and two cups water in the morning. Then, I went out-for hours. Eight hours, actually. It was a warm day here and the sponge really bubbled away.

I added about two cups of bread flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and mixed it reasonably well by hand. I covered it, let it sit for 1/2 an hour and did dishes. Then, I folded it. I gave it three more folds over the next two hours. Then, I let it rise, without folding for another hour. By now you've noticed I never kneaded the bread. I kept folding the wet dough until it firmed up. I was hoping for a more open crumb, but maybe I need to keep the dough wetter. That's something I'll need to work on. I might also try this again but stretch the proofing out over a couple of days.

I divided the dough in two, and placed the loaves on a semolina dusted pan.

At that point, the dough still looked very shaggy, but I went ahead and tossed a bit of flour on top and covered them with a towel. I let them rise another two hours.

I preheated the oven to 425 degrees F. Created steam, slashed the loaves and loaded them in. Twenty minutes, then a rotation of the pan and another fifteen until an internal temperature of 205 degrees F.

I've never made a bread this sour. I'm sure it was the long soak, but I'm also wondering if it was the heat in here today. It is borderline for me, though Mr. Eat The Blog thinks it is superb. This would be an excellent bread to eat with a slab of good, dark chocolate (of which I have many thanks to the generosity of my in-laws. Danny's already put a pretty good dent in the shipment).