Toasted Almond Butter Seeded Sourdough Batard

Steps

1. The morning of day 1, feed your sourdough starter and leave it at about 75°F (24°C); it should double and peak, domed and bubbly, in 4 to 6 hours.
2. While the starter rises, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes until fragrant, let cool, then chop coarsely. Toast the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds the same way for 2 to 3 minutes and let cool.
3. Set aside 10 g of the bread flour for dusting later.
4. About an hour before the starter peaks, mix the remaining 440 g of bread flour and the whole wheat flour with 330 g of the water (all but 30 g) until no dry patches remain. Cover and rest 45 minutes.
5. Whisk the almond butter and maple syrup with the remaining 30 g of water until smooth.
6. Add the sourdough starter to the dough and squeeze it in with wet hands, then add the salt and the almond butter mixture and squeeze and fold for 3 to 4 minutes until the dough comes together. This is about 72% hydration and 2% salt.
7. Cover and let the dough bulk rise at about 75°F (24°C). After 30 minutes, do the first stretch-and-fold: scatter the almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and flaxseed over the dough, then stretch each side up and fold it over, working them in.
8. Do 3 more sets of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes, then leave the dough undisturbed until it has grown about 50 to 75%, looks domed and airy, and jiggles when shaken, about 4 to 5 hours of bulk rise in total.
9. Dust the counter with half of the reserved bread flour and turn the dough onto it. Pre-shape it into a loose round and rest 20 minutes.
10. Dust a towel-lined bowl or banneton with the other half of the reserved bread flour. Shape the dough into a tight, even batard so it slices into sandwich-friendly pieces, and place it seam side up in the bowl.
11. Cover and cold proof in the fridge overnight, 12 to 14 hours.
12. The next morning, put a Dutch oven with its lid in the oven and preheat to 475°F (245°C) for 45 minutes.
13. Turn the cold loaf onto parchment, score it with one long slash, and lower it into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake 20 minutes.
14. Uncover, lower the oven to 450°F (230°C) and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, until the crust is a deep mahogany brown and the center reads 205°F (96°C).
15. Cool the loaf on a rack for at least 2 hours before slicing into 12 pieces.