36 hours with a sourdough.

T-36:00 (Day 1, 6:00am). The starter, which I'll call Charlie because every starter is named, comes out of the fridge. Charlie was started in 2019 from a culture given to me by a baker in Footscray. He smells faintly of beer and stone fruit. I feed him 1:1:1 — flour, water, starter — and leave him on the bench.

T-30:00 (Day 1, noon). Charlie has doubled and is starting to peak. I mix the levain: 30g of Charlie, 90g of stone-milled Tasmanian flour, 90g of water at 26°C. Cover. Leave.

T-24:00 (Day 1, 6pm). Final dough. 800g of flour (a 70/20/10 blend of Tasmanian white, Tasmanian wholewheat, and a local rye), 580g of water, 180g of the now-mature levain, 18g of salt. I autolyse for 45 minutes, then mix with a slap-and-fold for four minutes. The dough is rough but warm; it will get smoother.

T-23:00 (Day 1, 7pm). First fold. Three letter-folds at 30-minute intervals over 90 minutes. The dough goes from rough to smooth across the three folds. I stop folding when it holds a windowpane.

T-20:00 (Day 1, 10pm). Bulk ferment begins in earnest, at 22°C. I cover and go home.

T-12:00 (Day 2, 6am). I check on the bulk. It has risen by 60–80% — exactly where I want it. I divide and pre-shape into eight loaves on the bench. Rest 25 minutes.

T-11:30 (Day 2, 6:30am). Final shape. I use a French shape (boule, tight tension on the surface) for the country loaves. Into floured bannetons, seam side up, covered with linen.

T-11:00 (Day 2, 7am). Bannetons into the cold retard at 4°C. They stay there until the bake.

T-0:00 (Day 2, 6pm). Bake. Dutch oven preheats at 250°C for 45 minutes. Loaves go in cold from the retard, lid on, 20 minutes. Lid off, drop to 230°C, another 25 minutes. The crust takes the colour I want around minute 38 — deep mahogany, with one ear that has lifted clear of the body.

T+0:30 (Day 2, 6:30pm). Out of the oven. Onto a wire rack. The loaf sings as it cools — a soft crackle that tells you the crust has set and the steam inside is finding its way out. I won't slice for an hour. The kitchen knows the rule.

Eight loaves leave the pass that night. The last one goes to the staff meal. Sourdough that is two hours out of the oven, salted butter, a glass of cold water. There is no better dinner.