Winged it on my first sourdough in a while

I winged it on my first boule in quite a few months, and I want to talk technique.

Ingredients: 75g starter (equal parts whole wheat and all purpose), 350g flour (250g bread, 100g whole wheat), 225g water @98°F, 8g salt

Process: 30 minutes autolyze, 6 S&F, 12 hour rise, shape, 4 hour proof, bake in Dutch oven @450°F

Here's what I want to talk about:

I'm a good home cook but absolutely not a baker. By that I mean I look at recipes, get the ingredients and gist, and then I just wing it. I understand the basics and have decent cooking technique, so I usually end up with something delicious in the end. That obviously isn't how baking works. But I wish it were!

What has made sourdough enjoyable to be over the years is the trial and error and the bit of unpredictability. However, in order to make bread baking work in my life, I had to settle on a recipe (and timing) that worked for me. I started with Ken Forkish's overnight levain recipe and adapted it slightly to fit my Dutch oven size and preferences. In the end, I have two variables that I play with (deeply unsystematically): starter "liveliness" and flour mix. I love trying different ratios and types of flours (locally milled anything, rye, buckwheat, teff, etc.). If I'm honest, at least half of my loaves are mediocre, but I really don't care to pursue sourdough perfection.

My questions: What do you do when you're not seeking the perfect sourdough? How do you experiment? How do you make this work in your life?

Oh, and the bread tasted great! The starter was a bit hungry, so I got a bit of tanginess from that. Although slightly dense from the whole wheat, the crumb was super soft. It was the perfect accomplishment for dinner tonight.