natural sourdough starter questions

[chinacats]

Been baking a bit...first loaves were cooked on a stone that I didn't allow to fully heat before using...bread tastes wonderful but the bottom is a bit underdone.

Country blond batard--

Thermometer holes are butt ugly, need to stop using it or test on bottom...

Country blond boule--

Country blond crumb--

And then a couple of spelt loaves...DO style.


boule:

batard:

 

[schanop]

That looks like a good progress, Jim. Bread crust colour is looking nice, darker, crusty looking.

 

[chinacats]

A few more pics, some progress and a few major lessons along the way...

Italian loaf that I sprayed with water right before putting in the oven...guessing it didn't react so well with the flour on the top? Also should have removed it from pan to finish baking the outside a bit earlier...

crumb...

This loaf came out quite well...buckwheat loaf baked on a stone.

and a crumb shot...

pain de campagne...not high enough temp in oven? baked on stone...

and crumb...

same in a batard but with an egg wash...can't tell from the pic, but overshot the stone while loading and had fun trying to get it back without losing too much oven heat

 

[chinacats]

Still working on it...

Field blend #2 from FWSY...


first a boule...

and a batard...

and a white loaf (hearth bread) from the Bread Bible

this **** is making me fat...

 

[boomchakabowwow]

how's everything tasting!!!???

 

[chinacats]

how's everything tasting!!!???

******* fantastic! OK, maybe my taste buds aren't trained well enough to know but I'm getting a nice complexity of flavors and the textures have been better than expected.

I'm probably degassing more than I should but trying to keep the large holes to a minimum because I like my condiments more on the bread than my hands..

Next challenge is trying to get a bit more oven spring...that and keeping enough stream in the oven for baking on a stone.