Trying to improve my bread
I have been making bread by hand on and off for 5 years or so. The last year or two has been more off than on and I am trying to change that. This last weekend I decided to dive back in and made an Italian wheat bread from Caroline Fields "The Italian Baker." I have the general techniques down and am really looking for advice on how to improve the crumb, crust and overall texture of my bread. The crumb is always denser than I would like and I have tried a number of things to improve it with little success (with and without vital wheat gluten, wetter doughs, more and less kneading, different rising speeds and times, with and without steaming). Additionally, my crusts always turn out very thin and flimsy. I found a forum post on just that topic and tried the suggestion of letting it bake 5 minutes longer but no luck.
Below are pictures of the progression of my most recent loaf. Any and all comments, suggestions, help, criticisms are welcome. I would love to have a more robust loaf with more structure and substance. Perhaps I am looking for the bread holy land but it is always good to strive to be better.
Done kneading and just about to go into a bowl for first rise:
[1] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
Beginning of first rise:
[3] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
Finished with first rise at around 2.5-3 hours. The recipe says there should be "full of air bubbles" but none are visible on the surface. Of course, there are SOME or it wouldnt have risen:
[4] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
I divided the dough into three equal pieces. Two are going into the fridge to slow proof and be cooked in the next couple days, this one was cooked today. Proofing setup:
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From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
Proofed, slashed, dusted and ready to bake; about 1 hour proofing gave not quite double size:
[6] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
In the oven, on the baking stone:
[7] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
Fresh out of the oven, baked just over 30 minutes (calls for 45-55 for larger, if I had divided into 2 rather than 3, loaves):
[8] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
The finale! The crumb is slightly more open than some of my breads in the past but, as you can see, the crust is very thin. The whole loaf is also quite elastic and rubbery:
[9] |
From Bread 10/11/2010 [2] |
After looking it over, what do people think? Any expert suggestions? Are there some secret tricks that bakeries use to get that "perfect" crust and crumb?
Thanks for any help!