Boule Wannabees

My first attempts at boules weren't so grand and glorious.  I had several flat, dense loaves that I was too ashamed to take pictures of.  Things have progressed but I am just a newbie.  My friend called me a bread nerd, I felt kind of excited about that.  Maybe I can truly be a bread nerd someday.  I made a pretty good loaf this morning, but now I want to do something a little more daring...like add more ingredients.

  This was a little better than my earlier attempts.  LIke I said, I was too ashamed to take photos of them.  I did eat them, though, and my family dutifully chewed their way through them, with some hot soup to help soften them up a bit.

  This was my first loaf that resembled a boule.  Unfortunately I forgot to add salt, so it was pretty terrible.

  This was another one, it came out better but I had major problems with slashing the dough.

  I was really excited and proud of how this loaf came out, but I must confess, I forgot to add the salt till the last moment and it, uh, didn't get distributed very well.

  This was one I baked 3 days ago.  Just a sourdough boule with some whole wheat flour.  I couldn't get the poppy seeds to stick very well, I had used too much flour.  I didn't slash deep enough & I couldv'e baked it a bit longer.

  Today's bread, another sourdough 7-grain boule

I've had a great time reading, experimenting, eating and sharing my newfound bread obsession with my bemused family and entertained friends.  It is difficult for some of them to understand why I want to take photos of my bread.  I know, however, that you, my bread heroes, will understand.