Okay, proofing just came up in dinner convo (Mrs Manic been watching the Great British Bake-off)Practicing both free-form loaves, and working with sourdough. First loaf was too manhandled, and did not have much in the way of 'artisan' crumb.
Loaf was handled minimally once the proofing/dividing was done (I think it had maybe 4-5 prods during the folding to get it to sit nicely. Need to get some polypropylene proofing tubs so I can use less oil--it's soaking into the flour on my board and rendering the shaping a nightmare). Success level: 90%. Forgot to turn convection on, didn't go quiiiite long enough, and sprayed a little too much water on top, so crust was a bit soft:
I could google it, but rather hear it from you- WTF is proofing?