Bread-Bakers v099.n062.14

I picked up your name in Peter Reinhart's terrific book Crust & Crumb.
I'm a novice baker and have been tackling french bread with mixed results.
Here's my problem .. I don't seem to be getting a good bloom on my loaves.
I wonder if I'm proofing them too long before baking.  I also tried this
with preferment dough and over night retarding.  In this case the loaf was
still quite chilled and had risen about one third when I placed it in the oven.

Sincerely

Mark Piper