I made my first loaf of the 70% hydration sourdough bread, and it was a total success!! I'm so happy that my bread could come out looking like yours. There was one aspect that was rather scary and I would like to prepare for it better with the next loaf. I put my Le Creuset in the oven to preheat. My largest one is a 5 qt, and it was obvious when I pulled it out from the preheat that I was not willing to risk burning my hands when it came time to gently lay the boule of wet dough into the pot. I don't have special gloves and I did not trust that I could pick up the resting ball of dough in its dishcloth sling and flip it into the pot, face up. So I chickened out and picked another dutch oven, heated it for 5 minutes only, and then placed it in there with a thud. But it did not deflate, and cooked up just beautifully.
So in the future, other than buying a 7 or 8 qt dutch oven, how does one transfer the dough without worrying about burning your hands? I considered flipping the banneton onto a sleet of parchment, and then lowering into pot, but the paper would then remain in there for the duration. Not a big deal but would prefer not to do this as no one else seems to need this step.
Today I took the full recipe and cut the final dough mass in half, and cooked in separate dutch ovens (both around 4 or 5 qt) . The first I picked up the linen sling and dumped it quickly into the pot, face up--it landed slightly crooked but I was able to shove it over more to center with a spatula. The second loaf was in a banneton basket with no liner. I turned it upside down, it stuck for a moment, then dropped down quickly. I feared it would deflate but it was ok. The breads are baking right now and look wonderful. The banneton spiral markings are being retained : )
So how do the rest of you get your proofed dough into a red hot iron pot? Any techniques to pass on? My family will be so spoiled with all this fresh bread. We are so happy to have discovered this site for motivation.