New bread enthusiast in Atlanta

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fsu1mikeg on
Hi, I just found this website recently as I was researching baking stones.  I just started baking bread this past year and only seriously in the past couple months.  My wife is from Germany and I have never been the same since I first visited her there in 2001.  I decided if I can't find good European bread here in Atlanta, I've got to bake it myself.  I'm really just learning and experimenting so far.  I tried a bunch of recipes with little success, then finally bought Local Breads a couple months back and started getting serious.  Last night I made some great-tasting Dreikornbrot.  It's really the best thing I've done by far.  The rye starter didn't look exactly like it's supposed to, but the finished product was good.  I also tried a stiff dough levain, but did not have the same success.  Anyway, I'm excited that I found this forum to get ideas and ask questions about all the stuff I'm having trouble with.

Welcome.  I wish you well in your new hobby, it's a great one.

I'd like to ask you a question about your dreikornbrot if you don't mind.  Did you get any oven spring?  Pardon me if you already know the term, but in other words did it rise any in the oven?  I made this same bread a couple days ago and didn't get any.  It still tastes great and isn't actually dense at all, just small...  Just curious if you got the same results.  Thanks! 

I didn't get much oven spring, but pretty much the results that you described.  The bread was light and not dense at all.  The recipe decribed 8x4 inch baking tins, but I used what I had, which were slightly wider (4 1/2 in).  So it didn't rise above the top of the tin after it was proofed and baked.  I didn't place the tins on a baking stone, so I don't know if that matters when you're using loaf tins or not.  The recipe in Local Breads did not call for using a baking stone, and it's pretty explicit about when you need them in other recipes, so I just trusted it was correct.