Ingredients:

• 500g bread flour
• 350g water
• 100g active starter
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
• 15g honey
• 11g salt

Inclusions:

• Zest of 2-3 limes
• 3-4 graham crackers, crushed
  • mixed with 1-2 tbsp melted butter (optional)
• Key lime pie filling:
  • 4oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3.5oz condensed milk (1/4 of a can)
  • 1.5 tbsp key lime juice
  • Zest from 1 lime

In a large mixing bowl, add your starter, water, honey, and vanilla. Stir until milky. Next add your flour and mix with a spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Then continue mixing by hand until all flour is incorporated and dough starts to become less sticky. Cover and set aside for 1 hour. Measure your salt into a separate dish, and set near your mixing bowl to add later.

After 1 hour, add salt and perform your first round of stretch and folds. Cover and rest again for 30-45 minutes. Perform three more stretch and folds or coil folds (personal preference) spaced 30-45 minutes apart. Add the zest of 3-4 limes during your second fold.

After final fold, cover and continue to bulk ferment until the dough has grown ~75%. I used a glass bowl with measurement lines to help me tell when the dough has increased the appropriate amount.

While your dough is rising, prepare your key lime filling by adding all ingredients to a medium mixing bowl. Mix on high with a hand mixer until smooth. Then cover and refrigerate to firm it up some.

Lightly mist your counter and dump your dough out. Spread it gently into a wide rectangle, being careful not to tear it. Sprinkle a layer of crushed graham crackers across the rectangle. Then, using a piping bag or spoon, add dollops of your key lime filling across the rectangle. Next you will tri-fold the dough. Add more graham cracker crumbles and key lime filling. Then roll the dough log up tightly, pinching the sides as you go to keep all the good stuff inside. Using cupped hands, pull the dough towards yourself to create surface tension, being careful not to tear it.

Transfer your dough seam side up to a rice flour dusted banneton or tea towel lined bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours (I usually do overnight).

Preheat your oven and dutch oven to 450F. Remove your dough from the fridge after the oven is preheated. Flip onto parchment paper or a bread sling, dust with rice flour, and score. Bake in your dutch oven covered for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and lower the heat to 400F. Bake at 400F for an additional 25 minutes, or until internal temperature is 205-210F. Cool for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Storage: Keep this loaf refrigerated in an airtight container, and consume within 3-5 days.