...oh man, that spring scale trick is a lifesaver once you dial it in. I've seen guys fight with inconsistent tension for years before someone showed them a simple gauge like that. Your mileage might vary on the exact pound setting depending on your pen and paper combo, but it's a solid starting point.

Yeah, that's pretty much the whole book.

Wait, you actually like that wonky grip @charles_kim? lmao

Yeah totally know what you mean about that first flat batch. I had the same thing happen with my first cold proof batch, they looked like deflated pancakes. But @caseywest once you dial in that fridge time it really does make all the difference. I actually found that 14 hours works great for me too but if your fridge is colder you might need to push it to 16. Another thing that helped me was making sure the dough was relaxed enough before the final shape, if it fights back you end up with uneven layers. The timer is honestly the smartest move, set it and forget it is the only way to get consistent results.

That's rough, hope everyone's okay.