These were all made with either the poolish technique, in which you make an overnight starter with a very small amount of yeast, or with the levain method, in which a portion of unbaked dough is held back to make the next day's batch. The levain was great, but very time consuming. Now I use a liquid starter fermented with natural yeasts on organic grapes. I line a rack with fire bricks and preheat them at 500 for one hour. This is the best way to get good steam control for home baking.
Good steam is the only way to get a good crust.
After baking a nice loaf, you will get an amazing crackling sound for about 5 minutes as the crust contracts a little.