How Am I Doing? (pics)

hippiediva's picture
hippiediva
My third & fourth loaves of sourdough, ever, baked in one batch tonight.

Is this a good crust?  I can't show the crumb b/c it hasn't cooled yet, but I'll be taking pics of it in the morning when I cut into it.

Loaf 1 of 2, proofed in homemade couche:
Loaf 1, proofed in homemade couche


Loaf 2 of 2, proofed in homemade rectangular banneton:
Loaf 2, proofed in homemade rectangular banneton
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TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2008 October 9
Won't tell you till you show us the crumb.
























Just kidding! I think they look great! Will be waiting to see more.....

Welcome, hippiediva!
TP
hippiediva's picture
hippiediva 2008 October 9
You got me.  I thought you were serious at first.

I should learn to scroll all the way down from now on.  :rolls eyes:

Thanks for the welcome TP!

Am I looking for anything specific in the crust results though?  If so, am I close?
TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2008 October 9

Wull...not being a pro, I'd want to see a cross-section before I comment. But, I'd say the bread really looks good, nicely puffed up. What do you use to make the cuts? There's a little bit of dragging there, but, hey, it doesn't affect the taste one bit. Well done!

Hang on...lemme go look at the colour...

Yep, looks fine. You might want to bake a wee bit longer for a more even browning...but that's a personal preference.

(Mmm....smells good.)

'nite!

TP
lamp's picture
lamp 2008 October 9
I'm just a novice myself but that looks like very nice bread. :-)

As TP said, you might want to bake it for a little longer and get it just a touch browner (I find the crust gets a really nice flavor if a little browner, but that might just be my preference). The top loaf looks better than the bottom, so ifthey were baked together it might just be the photos. The crumb is nice and even....and I wish I could get my base to brown like that.

Boris (AKA Danubian) who really knows how to bake has put up some photos and tips on how to slash your bread into the comments section in my blog, so if you want some tips have a look there. There is nothing wrong with the look of your bread though. :-)
LeadDog's picture
LeadDog 2008 October 10
Your bread looks fine.  I'll bet it tastes good too.  I found that for myself the more I make bread the better it looks but it tasted fine from the start.  Try picking one area you think needs improving and make an adjustment and see what kind of change it makes.  You will get use to how the dough handles, shapes and slashes too.  All of these areas were learning experiences for me.
hippiediva's picture
hippiediva 2008 October 10
Thanks everyone.  And the lighting was way off as I took the pictures last night -- my kitchen light bulbs do weird things to how things look when there is no daylight to backdrop them.  They are actually a touch browner than the pictures show.  One loaf is gone (the rectangular-ish one) as a gift to my next door neighbor.  Wish I could have snapped a pic of that crumb as well, but I'd feel awfully silly -- awfully silly -- asking her if she'd let me borrow it back to take its portrait.

I slashed with what I could find at the moment, which happened to be a rather dull serrated edge steak knife.  It has since been thrown out b/c it was really that useless.  The one or two slashes that looked okay out of the 6 were the ones I did quickly and without thinking.  The others, where there is apparent dragging & tearing of the dough, I thought about, and one of them I even tried to redo.  Bad me.

Super yummy though.  Waaaay better than my last two loaves.  The first was a sourdough brick, and the second was edible but not terribly enjoyable.  This loaf I fear may be gone before I'm ready to make another.  Which means I should start now.

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