1. Prepare Your Sourdough Dough: Follow your preferred sourdough recipe up to the point where your dough has completed its bulk fermentation and is ready for shaping. It should be bubbly and well-risen.

2. Prepare Your Flavor Additions: While your dough is finishing its bulk ferment, prepare your chosen flavor ingredients. This might involve chopping fresh herbs, grating cheese, toasting nuts, or rehydrating dried fruits if necessary. Ensure everything is ready to go.

3. Gently Stretch and Fold: Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently stretch it into a rough rectangle. This provides a larger surface area for incorporating your additions.

4. Scatter the Flavors: Evenly scatter your chosen flavor ingredients over the stretched dough. Try to avoid clumping them in one spot.

5. Fold and Distribute: Perform a series of gentle stretch and folds or coil folds, as you would during bulk fermentation, to incorporate the ingredients. Do this 2-3 times, allowing a few minutes of rest in between if the dough is very tight. The goal is to distribute the flavors without deflating the dough too much. You should see the ingredients spread throughout the dough.

6. Shape Your Loaf: Once the flavors are mostly incorporated, proceed with your usual shaping method for your sourdough loaf. Be mindful not to tear the dough excessively, especially if you’ve added larger pieces of ingredients.

7. Final Proof and Bake: Place your shaped dough into your proofing basket (banneton) for its final proof, then bake according to your standard sourdough recipe. Keep an eye on the crust during baking, as some additions (like cheese) can brown more quickly.