This is a great tip for other Canadian bakers who might be wondering why their dough looks different from what they see in videos or photos from American bakers. Adjusting hydration upward (a great fix!) or using all-purpose instead of bread flour can make a difference.

Thanks for sharing your experience—these regional flour differences are so important to understand!

You've already identified several key insights—especially about fold intensity and frequency being a balancing act. Too gentle and the dough lacks strength; too aggressive and you break down what you've built.

For bulk fermentation timing, I'd recommend focusing less on the clock and more on visual cues. Look for about a 30-50% volume increase, domed surface, and bubbles visible along the sides of your container. These indicators work across different flours and environments.

Switching to a moderate protein flour (11-12%) might give you that more open crumb you're seeking. The extremely high protein durum wheat can indeed create a tighter structure that's harder to expand, but I've seen this with durum regardless. It does tend to produce a tighter crumb. You might find that bread flour or a good all-purpose flour blended with your whole wheat gives you better results, but the flavor of durum is fantastic. A tradeoff.

I'm looking forward to hearing how that transition goes! Keep experimenting and enjoying your baking journey.

Cate, I completely understand what you're aiming for with your sourdough. That middle ground between ultra-open crumb and more substance is actually what many bakers prefer – bread that's both beautiful and practical for everyday use.
Your 80% KA AP/10% bread flour blend at 75% hydration with an extended autolyse is a solid approach. It's all about making bread that suits your preferences rather than following trends.

Keep baking and enjoying the process!

Since relocating and not wanting to spend nearly $70 on shipping Central Milling flours, I am now blending 80% King Arthur All-Purpose Flour with 10% Bread Flour at a hydration level of 75%. Believe Maurizio Leo when he emphasizes the benefits of autolyse; I let my dough autolyse for two hours to achieve a thin, crispy crust and an open crumb—but not so full of holes that every topping leaks out. While it may be sacrilegious to some, a sourdough bread crumb that is too airy is not my ideal. After a lifetime of enjoying sourdough from the most renowned bakeries in the San Francisco Bay Area, I now prefer a loaf that has more substance and actual bread than holes.

Sorry don't know how to edit. I meant to say my flour at the beginning!

Pete, thanks for sharing your experience! Actually, while high protein flour (13.1%) can typically handle more water, it sounds like that hydration level might have been too much for that particular Montana Wheat flour. Each flour behaves differently, so don't hesitate to adjust the hydration down until you find what works best for your specific flour and environment. Glad you're exploring different combinations to find what works best for your taste. Looking forward to hearing how the beginner recipe turns out!

I now suspect a lot of my problems with sourdough may have stemmed from using the high protein flour (13.1%). I did increase my hydration to around 80% but had a hard time working with the slack sticky dough. I even thought the stickiness was a result of overworking the dough and disrupting gluten web formation. I went to the internet and tried different techniques and different recipes, mostly without adding the commercial yeast as before. I always used the local Montana Wheat high protein flour and had to eliminate the 10% whole wheat flour to get reasonable open crumb. I decided the result tasted too much like "Wonderbread" lacking texture and flavor, so I went back to the Forkish hybrid yeast/levain bread and have gotten a bread with reasonable open crumb that has the taste and texture we like.

I am excited and hopeful to try your "beginner's" recipe, using high protein white and wheat flour; without the addition of commercial yeast, to see if I can get your results.

Thank you, Maurizio, for your work and insight in helping me understand the nuances involved in making sourdough bread. I look forward to reading more if not all of your articles for further insight.