Hi Sandy, I'm so glad you hear you enjoyed this post! That final proof can be difficult to gauge and even though I've been doing this for years, there's always a little uncertainty, especially when I'm baking a new recipe for the first time. With my sourdough baking, the final overnight rise in the refrigerator seems to make this step a lot easier. The bread is usually risen enough in the morning to bake without much decision-making necessary, and the loaves aren't as delicate to transfer and slash as shaped loaves that have been left at room temperature to rise. With yeast breads I look to see that a gentle poke on the surface of the loaf results in the indentation filling slowly and leaving only a small imprint. The tricky part is that every recipe is a little different, and environmental conditions are always changing, so what works one day, might not work that well the next. Practice helps. Trying to maintain consistent dough and proofing temperatures from day to day also helps. And perhaps there is some comfort in knowing that you're not alone in finding this a difficult step in the baking process! Barb

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