I am always trying to get bigger holes, so I experimented with a bit more hydration. The stakes were high as my sister-in-law and brother-in-law are visiting from England, and Bob was a baker for more than 30 years!
They seemed to enjoy it. We had lunch outside on the patio. The crumb was good, but I am always looking to improve.
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good loaf of bread any professional baker of 30 years would love to eat. Well Done and
Happy Baking Phyllis
I think you did a great job with that bit of flour. :)
I have a lot of trouble slicing my bread so uniformly, especially when it has holes that encourage my knife to tear the bread.
David: I leave all the slicing to my husband, who is the master of it. I told him of your comment, and he was very pleased! I am the worst slicer, so never do it. So glad you noticed. Loved your breads! Thanks so much. Phyllis
I am the husband here. That was no help. :)
David: Sorry! He did use two knives...one to cut through the crust with a serrated edge and a second, sharp but solid, to cut the bottom crust, which was very thick and harder to cut....Hope that helps! Phyllis
I wasn't grrr'ing because you gave a bad answer, but at myself for being the husband who can't slice bread!
I decided to try my sharp chef's knife this morning and it did quite nicely. Probably not great for the blade though.
I had one loaf so far with a bottom too tough to cut and that made it too hard to eat unless toasted. I do not know why it happened. Starting my next bake I am going to keep notes though. :)
David: So did my husband! I do not have the bread-cutting gene. My slices are all odd shapes and sizes.
My husband, Roy, had the same problem you had when trying to cut through the bottom, however. I use a LaCloche baker, and the corn meal can get a little dark underneath and it seems like the bottom gets a lot more done than the top, so I am sure that doesn't help. Good luck with your notes. I should do that as well....Phyllis
I bought an electric knife for $1 at a thrift store. It does an terrific job cutting thru my crusty breads (better than my Global bread knife). No squishing of the bread - no carpal tunnel. Best dollar I ever spent!
I can't see your image very clearly -- but it looks like you have a very nice crumb. If you want to up the hole-y factor, you might want to try Ken Forkish's breads in Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt. I haven't baked from Tartine so I'm not sure how they compare -- but all the breads I've made based on Forkish's formulas and technique have very open crumb and good gelatinization. The loaf on the right is based on his Pain de Campagne.
Thanks so much. The electric knife is a great idea, and I will try this bread. Your bread looks perfect! Love the crumb. thanks for sharing. Phyllis
I love your scoring pattern Phyllis. It is really attractive. Just how much higher did you go with the hydration?
Best,
Syd
Syd: I will have to look back at the recipe, but I believe I added about 100 grams more water than the recipe called for. As I liked the way it turned out, I may try this again. Phyllis