shaping
Unhappy with Final Product
This is my first post. I lurk around here quite a bit and have learned a lot. I have been making the Tartine basic country loaf and I am not happy with the final shape. The crust and crumb are good and I am happy with the flavor. I just feel the shape still isn't what it should be and without the dutch oven I think this boule would be a pancake. Please any feed back would be helpful.

Pre-shaping - tight or loose?
Hi all,
When pre-shaping dough prior to final shaping, should the round shapes be fairly tight or loose for the 10-20 minute rest period?
Sourdough Problems- New oven
Hi everyone, I have been recently baking sourdough and have had a lot of success. My favourite recipe so far has been Susan's 'Norwich Sourdough' - link http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/08/my-new-favorite-sourdough/ . I had been turning out loaves like this

Questions on my first SD boule
Seeing how this was my first sourdough boule I couldn't be more proud. The taste was fantasic with a mellow sourness and a creamy crumb. My question lies in why it bloomed the way it did. I will explain how I proofed it and hopefully someone can give me some insight on why I had such monstrous bloom right in the middle.
Process:
help with bread
Hello everyone
I am rather disappioted. I baked five laoves of bread today and the laoves all split. I used the same formula that i use everytime.same shaping technique and cannot undesrtand what happened. Would anyone like to suggest anty help and also possible solutions.
The formula I used was 500g 50/50 whole meal and white flour
starter 130 gr
water 300g
salt 8g.
mixing time was 4 hours proving at room temperature
and after scaling and shaping 4 hours at room temperature
here is some pictures i took to show
Lean, airy, whole grain breads
Oven spring from under the loaf iso the top
Among the many issues I'm struggling with to perfect my sourdough batarde is this...
I'm getting good oven spring, but the loaves always expand mostly through the seam on the underside of the batarde rather than the slashes I've made in the top. I'm guessing that I'm doing something wrong in the shaping. I'm pinching the seam closed tightly, but just can't get the perfect grigne.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
thanks in advance
Les
Alternatives to a laminated wood shaping surface
I have Corian counters and had difficulty shaping baguettes due to working on a surface that was too smooth. I imagine that others who have granite or Formica have similar issues. I can put a slab of laminated maple on top which works just fine but makes the working surface higher than I want it. I can also apply a thin slurry of flour/water to the counter and let it dry, which is about the same as wood from the perspective of surface friction but it does take a little time to get it ready and also time to clean-up when I am done.
I am looking for other alternatives.
Videos Fixed on 'Les formes de pains'.
There were a couple of shaping videos on Les Formes de Pain that did not play correctly.
D. Guedes, who created and posted them, was able to fix the ones that weren't working.
If you've already watched them all, these two did not play.




