My dough had a 7-hour first rise because my starter was a bit sleepy and the dough spent several hours at 67°F before going into my proofing box at 78°F. The final proof at 72°F was a little under 2 hours.

Mixing and First Rise

Mix the seed soaker, adjusting the water amount if needed. See recipe notes. Cover and set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the dough ingredients, holding back some of the water if you use a less thirsty flour. See recipe notes. Mix until well combined. For stand mixing, use the dough hook attachment and pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.

Cover and let the dough rest about 30 minutes.

Add the seed soaker to the dough and mix for about 5 minutes. For stand mixing, start at a low speed for a couple of minutes, pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and resume mixing at med speed.

Cover and let the dough rise until it has expanded by about 50%. This took about 7 hours for my dough but the timing could range from 4-10 hours depending on the dough temperature and your starter strength.

Shaping and Final Proof

For a cold start to your bake, prep your baking vessel by lining it with parchment paper. If it is enameled, you can simply grease it.

Scrape the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and preshape it into a ball. The dough may feel wet-goopy but this is okay as it will bake with side support.

Let the pre-shaped dough rest about 15 minutes then shape it into a long loaf.

Transfer the dough to the baker, laying it seam-side down. Cover the dough with the lid and let the dough rise until the center of the loaf almost crests over the rim of the baker.

Dust the top of the dough with flour, score, and place the lid back on the baker.

Put the baking vessel into the cold oven on the middle shelf, set the oven to 450°F, and bake for 40 minutes with the lid on, followed by another 10-20 minutes with the lid off. The internal temperature of the bread should be over 200°F when it is done baking.

Cool the bread in the base of the baker for about 10 minutes then transfer the bread to a rack to finish cooling.

Store in a closed container, bag, or beeswax wrap.