Big Holes in Bread
Howdy All,
I seem to have a predicament on my hands. My name is Dan, and I'm a young, and very eager bread-baker. From Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" I've tried the "Pain A L'Ancienne" bread a few times, along with Ciabatta. I get small, maybe 1/4'' holes, but nothing huge and extravagant like the pictures state. I will highly admit, I'm a new baker, I've only been baking for only a few years, I do have the equipment I need, but I will admit that my knowledge and skill are limited.
Now, when I bake this bread, I have the "Brod and Taylor Foldable Proofer", and I set that to whatever the recipe states. If it says room temperature, I set it to either 80-85. If the recipe says to proof for an hour, I do just that. I also check the "feel" of the dough too. I'm pretty sure when you poke it, it should spring back slowly.
I realize big bubbles are the eye-catcher of this bread, so I try to handle it as gently and as easily as possible. Peter Reinhart suggests to wet everything (hands & tools) with water, and I do just that. I follow the recipe to every word it states, and I still get small bubbles.
Not trying to sound ego-tistic, but I think my bread looks beautiful, I'm just not getting the hole structure desired. I'll include a few pictures for references.