Hi Everyone,

I was hoping someone would be able to help me with a constant problem I have been having.  I am relatively new to baking bread (I have been baking breads for about 6 to 8 months) but have always had success with every bread I have tried, whether artisan or simple, to a point.  The problem I keep running into is really wide bread.

Let me explain: Every time I make a round loaf my bread gets wider instead of getting taller (it gets tall to a degree but i still end up with a larger shorter round) causing my slices to be about 8 inches long but only an inch and a half or so tall.  Is there a way to avoid this and get more of a fully round loaf?  Do I need to use a mold in order to achieve this? I thought that I would be able to get a round free form, but it hasn't been working so far.  Is it possible that my bread is just too slack? I think its possible that the dough is too slack but it seems odd that it would happen to all my different types of bread and recipes I've used.

I currently have a poolish sitting out and would like to make some bread when I get home, so any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for any help you can give!

- Laura

hi ya all

i made two loafs last night ..

they baked real nice so diceded to upload a picture .

i made them with a 12 hours biga -  200 g whole wheat flour 200 g water and 1/4 teaspoon yeast.

added 1 teaspoon yeast , 2 teaspoons salt , 400 g all purpose  flour , 200 g water , mixed , rise for 4 hours with 3 streach and

fold .

shaped , slashed and   baked covered for 15 minutes and 20 minutes more uncovered ..

yummi !!