Wednesday's Big Loaf

My bannetons have been fine purchases but I'm itching to get back to smaller loaves. Currently, I'm hitting around 900g or a shade under 2# of dough per loaf. Now, there will be some weight loss after baking but even so, the loaves will still finish up at about 750g. The problem with going to smaller loaves will be that I'll have to up my game in the shaping department and figure out how to do a retarded fermentation with an essentially free standing loaf. That will take practice. I'm thinking about a total flour weght of around 360g. The total dough weight would be around 720g when the water and starter are added and should finish about 605g, give or take a few.
The pictures are of the big loaf from Wednesday. I used AP flour instead of bread flour and 25% whole wheat which may explain some of the wide body of the loaf. I used a white flour starter and added some discard from my WW starter. I didn't want to waste the WW starter into the compost pile. The WW discard may have contributed a small amount to the rise but the white was really active after a single build so I think that did the most work. The crumb turned out rather well with an even distribution of the nooks and crannies. The walls of the nooks and crannies have a nice pearlescence that may not show in the photos. My camera doesn't let me get a close up. Flavor and texture were very good at first cut and still are two days later.
Out in the yard are the shells from the food in the birdfeeders. We had a little thaw up to 52F today but it didn't clear the snow. The temps are going down again and by Sunday night there may be some snow possibly mixed with sleet. Total snow fall expected is around 6". Carol says I need to get some seed catalogs through the mail to make me think of Spring. She will too if they ever arrive.