Hi Charisma, a lot of factors influence the final crumb structure of your bread, so it's not easy to give you a simple answer when it comes to how to achieve those big airy pockets you're looking for. I suspect in your case that 9 hours at room temperature might be too long. Especially if you're not getting good oven spring during baking, I suspect your dough may be over-fermenting, which could be contributing to your denser structure. While I can't give you an exact amount of time that will work best for your bulk rise, once your dough is rising well and becoming airy, that's a good sign that it's ready to be shaped and put in the refrigerator for the overnight rise.  

Check out our blog post on Producing an Open Crumb in Sourdough Bread for more tips. 

Barb

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