Last night’s 78% hydration country loaf — 20-hour cold retard, 30° lamé score — still gave me a ragged ear on a preheated steel. Do you find flour strength (mine’s 11.5% protein, stone-milled) or steam method (lava rocks, 250 ml at 250°C) makes the bigger difference for a clean, traditional ear?
I’d bet steam containment is the bigger lever — bake the first 20 min under a preheated Dutch oven or an inverted pan on the steel, then vent to dry the ear; it’s like letting a zipper set before you tug it. If the ear still frays, blend in 10–20% stronger flour to nudge past “11.5% protein.” How deep are you scoring — around 0.5–1 cm?
those “two 25°F nights” will nuke alkalines fast. I’ve had much better battery life going keypad‑first with Yale Assure 2 or Schlage Connect on Zigbee/Z‑Wave (skip the Wi‑Fi module), plus a thin foam insulator behind the interior plate on metal doors; disabling auto‑unlock/presence scanning took one building from about 4 months to about 10. If someone insists on auto‑unlock, set it to trigger only on wake and use lithium AAs — have you tried that combo?