Time to call it as good as it gets (with this oven)

Now that I've done everything shy of adding a flux capacitor to my oven I'm calling this the max as far as far as browning goes. Today I baked in two batches, since I mixed up 4 loaves worth of dough and learning that the top,rack is really the best location for sucking heat I shaped two,loaves and then started the next two presales when the first two went in. As a result the second two were a bit too under proofed but here's what we got. The pic above is from the first batch. Now seriously thinking about going electric :\

They look spot on to me. Well done and happy baking

We had one bakery here in los Angeles (bouchon) that did a decent baguette - not amazing but good. Then one day it all changed and they stated producing the usual pretty looking loaf but tough and overly chewy and leathery loaf which was my trigger to start trying to replicate and real baguette, actually several years ago I did the same with Australian meat pies (I grew up on these) and they are near impossible to find here. Its another one of those things that has to be just right on several dimensions and it also took about a year to get right. That's baking - simple but so complex. At this point I'm scouring ebay for cheap electric oven that I can augment. Thought about a rofco but the dimensions are too small,so there may be a garage project brewing ... Well see ...

Mainly asking out of curiousity since I only occasionally make them, but what's an Australian one like?

Good,question and having grown up on them I can tell you great detail. Firstly any Australian will be able,to tell you in a split second if a pie is authentic or a bad knocks off. Although there are several varieties there's a basic beef pie that has to be just right along several dimension. Firstly the filling is a very much gravy which is rather thick and savory flavored usually with oxo cuves, pepper, salt, nutmeg and either soy or Worcestershire sauce. It should sort of ooze as its thickened with flour. The whole,idea being that this is a budget food. Any gourmet pie that shops bake are usually less desires and streaknversions should also contain copious amounts of gravy. The crust,is a simple short crust and best with lard or margarine as shortening. Australians are not looking a flaky lower crust but more of a glutenized short crust. The topping is puff pastry and the best shops usually do the laminate themselves. The most loved pies are those that are fresh baked. If margarine is used for the crust btw, american margarine does not hold up and its usually a European margarine. I will usually opt for lard that I have separated from the beef and that produces a fantastic lower curst. If you are interested to try something authentic there's a place,in Seattle called 'australian meat pie company' the ship just about anywhere and do a great job - https://www.australianpieco.com

I grew up on the great Aussie pie too, and you have described them perfectly and made me very homesicK...I did find a recipe on YouTube and had a go, which turned out ok but not the same. :-(

Right on ! Great to meet another australian. A lot of Australians craving pies resort to taking a stab at home. Usually the pattern starts with hearing about a restaurant or food joint that sells them and then being disappointed but what you find. Often times in usa you find that anyone selling them has altered the recipe to cater to American taste buds or just did the wrong thing tried to cut corners etc and you walk away disappointed. As you know a pie is a pie is a pie is a pie. You expect it to taste look and feel right and for that reason there's really only one way to do it (with slight variations). First of all the filling can use either soy or Worcestershire sauce but it always has salt, pepper nutmeg and flour to thicken. The short crust should use either margarine or lard (not butter). The last time I did them years ago we ate them for morning tea at cricket match (found a cricket club here in LA and had guys ringing the doorbell for the few weeks). Now,look what you did, made me crave them too !

I find myself thinking just the opposite. Lol!

Like out of the box stuff... what about reinventing the baguette? A round baguette, like a wheel? never mind...... :)

Ha ha but I think they already invented a few offshoots. I think dabrownman mentioned in a thread a unique bobble ended baguette and the other thing could be interesting scores like the long single score. I noticed in France they can get rather expressive with baguette scores and the flour companies often showcase their flour with unique designs. Quite honestly I already started dabbling with laminates which I once did quite often with pies so who knows what's next ;)