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Greetings everyone. I've been enjoying reading all the great threads and viewing those beautiful photos of breads for a awhile now and need some counsel.

I tackeled my first Sourdough the other day. One of Tom Leonard's from Maggie Glazer's great book on Artisan Breads. The crumb was too tight

and it lacked real tang, but it did "work". The culture took around eight days, but didn't seem to have much spring. I'm just starting to scratch the surface,

so much to know. Here's my latest problem. The bottom of my loafs sometimes seem almost under done. The crumb is more open near the top of the loaf

and the very bottom is tight like a pumpernickle. I'm not getting the nice open crumb, should the bottom color always match the top? Should I lower my rack?

I'm already baking on a half inch pizza stone and pre heat my oven for at least an hour. I generally bake on parchment paper. I'm baking several times a week

and would love to get more consistent color and better volume in my breads, (I have been folding). would love any advice. I have been baking Craig Ponsford's

Ciabatta to rave reviews and get wonderful open webbing from that recipe, I know that's the nature of a slack dough, but I struggle with lower hydration recipes.

Love this site and the wisdom and generosity of it's members.  I'm a real newbie but artisan bread baking has changed my life and I want to learn.

Cheers, 

Piper Pane